Wisdom
by Nanabooks
Summary: ... Something she'd never possessed, and probably never would. OC-insert.
1. Void

**A/N: Hello dear readers, thank you for stopping by. I decided, not long ago, to post one of my (many) attempts at fanfiction online for the first time. Yaaay! Initially, this chapter/prologue was much shorter, and (in my opinion) not developed enough. So, I wrote the whole thing all over again. This first chapter is more of a intro to the actual story, but anyway, enjoy it and see you at the bottom to explain a few things.**

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 **CHAPTER I (PROLOGUE)**

 **Void**

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There was nothing interesting about her death. The circumstances in which she had come to meet her final breath were boring. She hadn't died protecting someone else from evil, or met any kind of epic ending.

Her death had been dull, boring, uninteresting. A common thing that happened every day and everywhere. Nothing said about it could be described as astonishing, heroic, or tragic. Her final moments had been like her life: annoyingly dull.

Of course, her life hadn't been all clouds and monotony. She had lived it well and never lost an opportunity to do whatever she wished to. She'd been the kind of person to throw everything away on a whim, to fully express herself in the way she wanted. However, if she had done great things and enjoyed living, her life had still been annoying; there'd been nothing exciting about it.

Her life had been short, well-lived and enjoyed, but _boring_.

The day she had died, it had been a dark, cold, and rainy day. She remembered how she'd thought it was an extremely boring day, wet and annoying. She had never been a fan of water, but now, after her death, it'd took a whole new meaning. From then, water had been proclaimed her enemy.

She remembered not only her painfully plain life, but also her death. It was probably the worst thing she'd ever experienced. The memory of her death was not particularly precise, if anything, it was blurry, like the memory of an evening after a hangover; but its sensations were so _vivid_.

She still felt the water filling her lungs, choking her; the air wearing thin, the horrible, _horrible_ realization of her fate, and her desperate struggles… At moments, her chest ached, her lungs burned, and she'd realized the phantom pain would probably never leave her.

Nothing could make those feelings disappear; she remembered everything and couldn't forget.

And seriously, _who_ , exactly, did that kind of thing? As far as she could tell, once you died, you were _dead_.

She would only say one thing: Dying was not a fun experience, and she wouldn't try it again anytime soon.

The Void that came after death, though, was a little unsettling.

It was all around her, enveloping her in a protective shell; warm yet cold, comforting in a way only a mother's hugs could be, but scary at the same time. It was numbing, and exciting… There was no proper way to describe it; she could only describe it vaguely, but she knew for sure that it was a _somewhere_ rather than a _something_.

It was quite a nice place to find herself in, especially after dying, drowning, cold and alone. The Void's warmth protected her, reassured her, even if she couldn't see anything, not even her own body.

There were times when she could hear voices, muffled whispers she couldn't quite decipher. At others, all she could hear was deafening silence.

She wondered, for a long time, if the Void was what the afterlife was like. She found it a little boring, but considering the circumstances that had led her to this place, she could have ended up with worse.

Sadly, her peace had been disturbed.

The Void, in all its reality, darkness, and silence, started to shrink on itself, little by little, slowly rejecting her. The pressure only grew stronger the more time passed by, and she met a point where she could barely move anymore. Panic settled in her veins then, terror filling her at the idea of what could await her after the Void. She slowly started to suffocate, and abandoning entirely the dream of staying in the Void forever, all she could think about was "Out!".

And the warm, welcoming, and comforting darkness that the Void had been shrunk increasingly, and never stopped to grow tighter and tighter… Until, suddenly, she saw light again.

Her automatic response to it was to scream her lungs off. The bright light, after so much time in the dark, blinded her. Eventually, she ceased screaming, but everything hurt, and she cried. In relief of being free of the Void, of being able to breathe again, or because of the pain, she couldn't say, but she, most definitely, didn't care at the moment.

She opened her eyes, and realized she couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear either. All she distinguished were blurry shapes and soft spots of colour; muffled voices and faint noises she couldn't focus on.

Faintly, she noted being placed in a pair of arms.

What was going on here, anyway? What was up with her being so small? _Why_ was she so _small_?

Oh. _Oh._

She'd never been a religious person. Her family had been Christians, but she'd never gotten into the whole religion thing. God was just a name, an adjective to describe something humanw couldn't understand. She'd believed there was something, but believed it wasn't a _specific_ something. To her, it was more of a universal law than a being controlling your entire life.

Reincarnation, especially, had never been something she'd believed in. It was something that seemed too good to be true; dying and being reborn to make amends.

How ironic it was.

Even if her realization was unbelievable by her standards, she thought, despite the utter strangeness of it all, that reincarnation made sense.

(And if, right now, she stopped lying to herself and started being honest, she would accept that she'd been expecting something along those lines to happen.)

She was now a baby. _That_ happened. She'd died at twenty-eight years old and her soul had been thrown into an infant's body. It _happened_ – probably not as often as she liked to think, but still.

Slowly, her mind processed the situation she was in. She had died, she knew that for sure –drowning of all things, how _boring_ was that? – and it hadn't, most definitely, been a dream. And she was now a baby. Not something she'd expected to say.

How the hell had she been reincarnated, though?

As she knew it, dead people didn't come back to life. Especially not in an infant's body. And even if they could, it didn't explain _why_ exactly _she_ was the one stuck in this impossible situation. Why had she been offered another life? Had Fate found her death as dull as she did, and therefore granted her a new life so she could be _original_?

She was getting sleepy. The weight of her realization had finally sunk in, and she wanted nothing more than to succumb to Morpheus.

Was she overthinking this? Maybe. Did she have the right to? Absolutely.

A soft humming interrupted her anarchic thoughts, and she tried to get a glimpse of her new mother.

(How _weird_ this situation could possibly get? She had a new mom. A total stranger, a woman she knew nothing about.)

All she saw was spots of black, brown, and white. Not useful, but she supposed the woman was happy to have her. She hoped so, anyway. She hadn't the strength to deal with another family drama.

It didn't matter how she'd gotten into this mess, she realized suddenly. It had already happened, there was absolutely nothing she could do to change it. Well, there was suicide, but even then, she doubted she would get back into her old body, being dead and all; and killing herself while being a mere infant would be difficult, to say the least. That, and she didn't want to die again.

She supposed her only option was to move forward and go along with her new life. And this time, she would make sure to make it exciting, and unforgettable – she would enjoy it to its maximum.

She had to learn her name first before doing anything though. Not knowing it could make her future tricky.

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 **A/N: Hope you liked reading this intro-thingy. Like I said, it's more of way to start the story than an actual, proper chapter. Please let me know your impressions. Reviews are always welcome to help me improve.**

 **I must warn you about one thing, though: this story is more of an experience than anything. I take my time to write, and I'm still in high school so I don't always have the time to write (or even breathe). Therefore, the chapters can come to life quickly or take their time. I will try to post regularly, every two weeks or so, but I don't promise you anything (because let's be honest, I'm not the most organized person you'll meet). Oh and by the way, English isn't my first language (I'm half French, actually) and I've only started to write in english, so let me know if there are any mistakes, mispronunciations or mis-** _whatever_ **.**

 **On that note, Nanabooks is out.**

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 **Edited 01/20/17**

 **A/N: So yeah, I wrote the entire thing again. I was not satisfied with it (and I'm not with the rest of the story, so it's likely to be modified soon). Fear not, once I'll be done, I won't modify the chapters I've already posted (which are I, II, II, IV and V to this day), but please make sure to keep up. We wouldn't want you to miss a mind-blowing plot-twist, now would we?**


	2. Settling of things

**Disclaimer: I only own the various OCs likely to turn up at one point or another, and the alterations to the plot; and certainly do not make any profit from this story. Naruto is Kishimoto's.**

 **A/N: Back at it again with a brand new, rewritten chapter! Enjoy and see you down there!**

 **Answer to review:**

 **anon: Thanks for making me discover a new song! I quite like it. And the rewriting is though, the characters won't let me play with them. Ungrateful suckers.**

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 **Wisdom**

A Naruto fan fiction story

 _Wisdom_ © Nanabooks

 _Naruto_ © Masashi Kishimoto

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 **CHAPTER II**

 **Settling of things**

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If she had to describe baby life in four words, she would say: _As boring as expected_.

She'd tried to entertain herself, she really had… But she'd failed. As it was, boredom was as much as one of her enemies as water was. Basically, life as a babbling, bubbling mess went by four simple steps: eat, sleep, poop, and repeat.

Oh, and normal babies cried a lot too. As a mature being stuck into an infant's body, she knew she was expected to be an unnaturally quiet child, but all she had to answer to that assumption was _fuck off_. Not only she was hungry all the time, and couldn't talk or move around freely, but there also was the _motherfucking_ teeth period. And it hurt like _hell_.

And so, she had taken upon herself to express her feelings on her current situation by being a normal baby. A by that, she meant that she yelled and cried all the time – it wasn't even funny anymore.

She'd probably been an awful baby towards her now-mother, but meh, she couldn't bring herself to care about that issue at the moment.

All of that occurred in addition to the horrifyingly embarrassing experience of potty training. Great.

To get back on topic, a perfect baby's life could be resumed in five, simple-to-follow steps: eat, poop, sleep, cry and repeat.

It wasn't stimulating at all.

Her past-self, in addition to being hyperthymestic, had been hyperactive. Which meant her mind never had a rest, and that it needed to be constantly occupied. Her mind and body had to be stimulated in any way possible; and as a baby, the range of activities was ridiculously small.

Life wasn't all bad, though. She was around three months old now. Approximately. Keeping track of time was extremely hard to do when you were a baby. But the point was, she could see clearly now! More or less anyway. No more blurry spots of colours and funny noises, yay!

She'd also gotten the chance to see her new mother face for the first – ish, the other times didn't count, she'd seen about as much as she would have with drug in her system – time in this life. The only word to describe her properly was _magnificent_. The woman was so beautiful and unique it was a crime. She had chocolate brown skin, with silk-like black hair and apple green eyes that shone brightly.

And her _smile_ , her smile was so beautiful and bright and happy. It lit up her whole face every time she looked at her, and she found it difficult to not appreciate the woman, especially when she was looking at her with so much adoration in her eyes. She even felt guilty for not truly considering the woman her mother.

The woman also enjoyed to sing. Her voice was soft, and airy, and simply wonderful to listen to. Every time she went to sleep, the woman sang a lullaby to her in her soothing voice. It was the best thing about her situation yet. She'd always been a fan of music, and the woman's melodies certainly were.

Currently, she was being held in the woman's arms, who was rocking her back and forth, smiling happily. Today's tune was soft, and airy like a faint breeze in summer, and she unconsciously giggled at hearing it.

The woman's green eyes shone and her smile widened.

"Do you like that tune, Chieko-chan?"

The language currently being spoken to her was Japanese. It had been a huge relief to realize it, because she already knew the language. It was, she supposed, one of the benefits of having a – past – Asian mother who could speak Chinese, Japanese and Korean without mixing any of the three together.

She was glad that she'd ended up in some Japanese country, because at least she wouldn't have to start everything over. She was in unknown territory, and it scared her. Everything was unfamiliar; her surroundings especially.

At first, she'd thought that her new family was very traditionalist, but she'd come to realize it wasn't the case; everything, from the walls to the clothing, was outdated, almost _ancient_. It was strange, and she'd come to believe life here was lived as it had been during the Edo era. It wasn't a _bad_ thing, it was just… unsettling.

Anyway, who cared about that, when she'd finally learned her _name_?

She was now Chieko. It was her new identity, and the proof of her reincarnation. She'd come to accept it. Chieko meant _wisdom_. Funnily enough, her old name had been _Sage_ , which, basically, meant the exact same thing.

And now she really thought Fate had some issue with her; the universe kept calling her wise… when she wasn't at all.

Wisdom was the ability to discern or judge what was true, and someone wise possessed insight and discretion. Wise, was someone who's advice you could follow, someone you could trust blindly. It was someone reliable. Sage had not been, in any existing way, _reliable_.

She'd been a brash, uncaring woman, and her advice often ended up making things worse. No, she'd been more of the type to crush you under her heel if she found you annoying, had been disturbingly frank with everyone, stating even the most hurtful truths. Sage had been a sarcastic and badass _bitch_ , who'd never cared too much about anyone or anything.

She supposed she'd been a hermit. She'd disliked – certainly still did – people, preferring the company of her thoughts and fictions, away from the cruelty, bullying and idiocy of humans. Obviously, she'd had relationships with others – she hadn't been living in a cave in a no man's land – but she hadn't drawn any form of happiness or joy from them.

There were only two people in the whole wide world Sage had ever loved: her mother, who'd been her heroine until she'd succumbed to a cancer; and her grandmother, who'd become her lifeline after her mother's death. As for her father, brothers, and sister? Hell, _boyfriend_? She hadn't cared about them. They hadn't been _important_ , and even they had, they'd given her enough heartache to despise their existence with every fibre of her being.

(She probably was some sort of sociopath; how would she know? And more importantly, why would she _care_?)

But Sage didn't exist anymore. In her place was left Chieko, and everything before that was not relevant. She'd been given a second chance; she intended on making it count.

(Sage had made mistakes. Chieko intended to change that.)

She had a whole new life ahead of her, tons of stuff to try and experience, and the entire world to see. The rest didn't matter.

… The sad thing was that currently, Chieko was a _fucking_ baby, and she didn't like being stuck in this situation. Baby life, with its horrors, such as teeth period and potty training – to which she wouldn't add detail to for the sake of the universe –, was _not_ a way to enjoy yourself.

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When Chieko reached one year old, she decided she'd had enough. It was time for her to start to walk, and as she didn't have the patience, she would skip the crawling phase. Of course, she started soft and slow – she didn't want to end up with a broken leg – and tried to stand up properly before experimenting anything looking like walking. The simple goal she'd set for herself to reach proved to be much harder that she'd expected. Her baby body was chubby, and hardly used. It was clumsy and wobbly on its two feet; and it caused Chieko to fall most of the time.

She had nasty bruises all over her body – but she kept on trying. And after many falls, she started to improve. She smiled. Yay, she was finally getting better!

"Chieko…-chan?" a voice interrupted her training. _Damn_ , she'd been caught.

Chieko raised her toddler head to meet the intruder. Unsurprisingly, it was Nanako, one of the girls living here – wherever 'here' was, she hadn't gotten the opportunity to explore, since she needed to _walk_ to do so – and Chieko's exclusive babysitter. The girl slash teenager was one of the very few people Chieko knew so far, and the one to take care of her when her mother was away – something that happened increasingly often these days.

Not someone to be distracted so easily, Chieko tried to stand up again, and failed miserably; which made Nanako giggle.

"Are you trying to walk, Chieko-chan?" she asked with a smile.

 _Huh duh, lady, what do you think it looks like?_ She mentally rolled her eyes. Paying no mind to the giggling teenager, she tried to stand again. She put her tiny hands flat on the floor, and pushed herself up swiftly.

She didn't fail, this time.

Wait, _what_?

Her eyes widened. _No_ _way_. She was standing! She'd actually _succeeded_! Chieko glanced at Nanako, whose eyes too were wide like saucers, her disbelief obvious on her face.

"How…?" she muttered, extremely surprised. And then shook her head. "Never mind that, I can't believe you managed to stand on your own!"

The best of all this was that she was stable on her two feet. She wasn't even wavering a little. No falling today, folks!

"But… Do you think you can walk towards me, Chieko-chan?" Nanako suddenly asked, in a gentle tone, as if she believed she couldn't do it.

The game was _so_ on. Chieko tilted her head to the side and inspected the teenager standing a few meters away from her with narrowed eyes. And then promptly stopped doing so, as she realized she'd gotten involved in a staring contest with a teenager; and that she was a fully-grown woman, and therefore above such trivial things.

 _Ah, fuck it._

Reengaging eye contact, Chieko deliberately stared at Nanako. Her glares had once been famous and feared, and she hoped they were still effective.

(She'd no idea of what a toddler glaring at a teen looked like, and she didn't want to know. She felt ridiculous enough.)

With a confidence freakishly abnormal for a one-year-old, Chieko moved. She lifted her right foot, cautiously and slowly, making sure she stayed stable, to step forward. She wobbled a little on her two legs, but her first step was achieved easily enough. Triumphantly, Chieko proceeded to repeat the same motion with her left foot, and this time, her legs began to shake a little.

… And then they gave out and Chieko found herself falling backwards, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

Ouch. That hurt _like a Monday_.

"Pfft," she heard Nanako's muffled laughter and then: "That was so cute!"

She didn't care about cute. It hurt. But, instead of starting to cry her eyes out like a normal toddler, Chieko simply pushed her pain away and glared up at Nanako. Unfortunately, it only made the blonde laugh fully and freely this time. She frowned. Nope. Humiliation was not a nice feeling. Her cheeks were super-hot and she wanted to crawl into a hole and never get out.

Nanako approached her quickly, genuine concern on her face, and Chieko realized that, even if she hadn't felt the need to cry, she probably looked like she was about to. And Nanako, being the caring older-sister figure she was, assessed carefully any possible damage from her fall.

"Ne, Chieko-chan, it's alright." She said softly. "Let's try again, okay?" she proposed with a soft smile.

Chieko nodded, and the both of them spent the entire afternoon practicing walking. During that time, Chieko fell a lot and got _Hella_ frustrated with herself, but kept on trying. At each and every one of her attempts, Nanako clapped and encouraged her, and gave her sweets when she got annoyed.

Overall, it took Chieko a full week to master walking. She was still a bit wobbly, and she bumped and tripped too many times to count, but at least she was standing and _walking_.

She could finally move onto the next phases: talking, reading and writing.

But for now, Chieko would simply explore. She had places to see and people to meet.

 _She was going on an adventure!_

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There was… something… inside her. It tingled, like a bad eczema one desperately wanted to scratch; bubbled, and it made her entire body warm and itchy. Chieko had no idea of how to describe the sensation properly, but there was one thing she was certain of: it hadn't been there _before_. When she'd first felt the strange warmth, she'd dismissed it as something she'd eaten, and thought maybe she'd caught a cold.

The thing was, as Chieko now realized, she was _never_ sick. And by never, she meant exactly that: Chieko hadn't, not even once, gotten sick, be it a simple cold or a terrible fever.

(It was probably a chance she hadn't, all things considered, because the serious lack of technology and other stuff made her worried about medicine.)

And the weird sensation was still there. She could feel it slithering in her veins, spreading warmth in its wake. It didn't hurt badly or anything, it was just… Unfamiliar. And Chieko wasn't comfortable with it.

She knew better than to talk to somebody about it, though. It was probably her mind finally reacting to its child body. Nothing to worry about, right?

(Haha, how she dearly hoped it wasn't something weird Fate was throwing at her again.)

Not that her mother would ever listen to what she had to say, anyway, granted that the woman graced Chieko with her presence. Her mother was frequently absent, had been since her first birthday.

"Wa-… Wata-… Watash-…"

As mentioned previously, her next goal, after walking, was to learn to talk. She'd thought it wouldn't be too hard for her because she already knew how to speak Japanese – bless her past-mother, she would never cease to love her – but who knew? A baby, hardly used and completely muscle-less tongue couldn't form words very easily.

 _Oh, come ooon_ , Chieko grumbled. Surely, it couldn't be that hard after days of practice!

Let it not be said she was impatient. She wasn't, the problem was that she'd already begun practicing talking a few months ago, and had yet to say a complete word – clearly, she'd underestimated baby uselessness, and the perfectionist part of her was biting her fingers in regret.

The only thing that kept Chieko from screaming her frustration out was the fact that Sayuri-obaa-sama had started to teach her some writing skills.

(She would pass on how clumsy she'd been while using brushes for calligraphy, because honestly, she had horrifyingly failed at being a poised, calm, and tidy writer like she was supposed to be.)

Back on topic of talking, Chieko was nearly pulling her hair out. Maybe it was time to try something else out?

Okay. "O-…" she exhaled rapidly. "Okaa-…" Nearly there. "Ok-…" Dammit.

One more time. 'Okaa-sama' couldn't be that hard to pronounce, right?

"Okaasa-.."

"Okaa-sama."

OH GODS, YES! _FUCKING_ FINALLY!

She _had_ to go show her mother her progress. She was too happy not to share with the class.

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It turned out that Chieko had lived in a brothel all along.

 _Shocking_.

Especially when the random thought suddenly crossed her mind and had, surprisingly – or not at all, it depended on the point of view of numerous people –, been proved correct after a thorough analysis of the facts.

The abundant presence of men on nights had only confirmed her theory.

Her mother was a whore. An _oiran_ , a prostitute who was _paid to have sex_ and not only entertain sad fellows with compliments and embraces – unlike Nanako, who was a _geisha_.

In Chieko's honest opinion, it explained quite a lot of things. First, her lack of a father, because it took two people to form one baby, a man, and a woman; and her mother's job as a prostitute explained the former's absence. Second, it also explained why her mother preferred to rest rather than spend time with Chieko after a day of work – as sad and _disturbing_ as it was.

Overall, quite a few mysteries had been lifted from Chieko's life.

It didn't excuse her mother from being absent on her second birthday, though. She'd spent it with Nanako and Sayuri-obaa-sama – who she now truly considered her grandmother – and, while it had been she'd enjoyed it, something, or rather, some _one_ had been missing.

Nope, she was definitely not forgetting that.

Chieko was on her way to Sayuri-obaa-sama's quarters. It was quite a long walk, since the woman lived in her personal quarters, away from the main house – where the whole customer thing took place and secondary quarters – where _geisha_ and _oiran_ lived. And Chieko needed to be discreet.

Child abuse was, sadly, something she'd grown accustomed to. Her past-father had been a drunk asshole – to put in bluntly – and Sage had grown accustomed to his frequent mood swings. She'd learned to flee when he started to get violent.

She blamed her current situation on her luck – and Fate. Being reincarnated was one thing, but being born as an illegitimate child, in a brothel of all things, was another. Not only a child hanging around in a brothel was a rare occurrence – due to the numerous abortions perpetrated by the prostitutes when they happened to fall pregnant, but it was also highly frowned upon.

Chieko had crossed path with abuse's ugly head a lot earlier than Sage had, though. It'd started after her first attempt to exit her quarters, and had gone increasingly worse after that. She would inexplicably find herself lost into the endless corridors of the brothel, or mysteriously locked up in a closet.

There was also the mental abuse, obviously. The whores certainly knew how to manipulate words perfectly; had Chieko not been a twenty-eight-year-old woman, she might have ended up broken. But words didn't hurt her anymore, they'd stopped a long time ago – when she'd still _cared_.

She didn't care.

The hateful glares, disgusted sneers, and harsh words, she accepted them. She embraced them as they came her way, allowing them to bring her above everything else. She was living proof that mishaps happened in the Red-Light District, and they wanted her to _hide_? Hell no, she would shame them and destroy them – the same thing they were trying to do to her.

They would never forget that Chieko _existed_. She wasn't some annoying bug one could easily dismiss, or a filthy rat invading another's territory; she was a child. And above all, she was _human_ – no petty little treatment would make her break. Not ever.

The only person Chieko was worried about was her mother, because now the woman refused to see her more than once a week. She'd figured her _nice_ and _caring_ colleagues had started destroying her mother's daily life, and her self-esteem.

(One in particular, going by the wonderful name of Hikari, who was, in Chieko's honest and blunt opinion, nothing but _a filthy bitch that deserved to die rotting on the pavements_. Probably came from the fact that the woman had 'forgotten' to feed her multiple times.)

The sad fact was, Chieko couldn't do anything. Not now, not until she was grown up enough to face the idioticwomen herself, not until she was finally able to crush them.

She couldn't wait.

Back on topic, discretion was necessary. Especially in the dead of night, when the brothel was still buzzing with activity. Chieko passed as silently as possible through the corridors, never paying attention to the loud laughs and not stopping at the muffled and lusty moans echoing through the thin paper walls. There was a strong smell of incense, and Chieko wrinkled her nose at the musky scent of sage – ha-ha, get it? … Gods, she was tired – leaves burning.

She bumped into somebody. She was _so lucky_.

Before she could fall, however, a hand jerked towards her and caught her wrist, effectively catching her midfall. Chieko looked up, and relief washed over her as she stared Sayuri-obaa-sama's familiar grey eyes.

(She wouldn't get hit tonight.)

"What are you doing here, Chieko?" the woman inquired, her brows furrowing in what Chieko supposed was worry.

She blushed furiously, and thanked the heavens she'd inherited her mother's dark skin.

"I, um… Had a nightmare?"

"Oh," Sayuri-obaa-sama's posture relaxed considerably, and she smiled softly.

Had she been worried Chieko had found trouble again? It was… kind of sweet. It made Chieko's heart swell up with warmth.

"Come on, then, you can sleep with me tonight. I'll sing you to sleep."

Yep, she was definitely in love with the woman. Chieko nodded and took the offered hand.

"Can it be Momo-san's tale?"

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"Chieko-chan, are you ready?"

Of course, she was. She'd been ready since the day she'd started walking. The simple announce that Nanako would show her around the market was enough to excite Chieko for the whole week. She'd never felt so eager to go outside, and that was something. The hyperactive brat inside her was jumping around in glee.

It'd only taken her three years to finally be allowed to go outside and explore the world. Chieko would make sure to make it memorable. It was, after all, her first time out in the unknown town she'd been reborn in.

She thanked the gods above that Nanako had decided to bring her along for the groceries shopping today, because otherwise Chieko would have spent another day locked inside. Bless Sayuri-obaa-sama too, for allowing Chieko to tag along.

And the best part, yet, was that her new hometown had a castle. Chieko's mother had told her it was the Daimyo's palace, or something, but she hadn't really listened, too overjoyed at the idea of a real and ancient palace that she could admire in all its authenticity.

She nodded enthusiastically at Nanako, who chuckled lightly.

"Alight then, sweetie. Let's go."

Her blonde babysitter was particularly lovely, today. Was it to impress someone? A boy, perhaps? Ah, she would have to check that out. Either way, Nanako was wearing a beautiful work of art, a deep orange kimono with gold lilies sewed on its fabric. It was a common thing to wear in the brothel, as it was the most renowned one in the Red-Light District, but the beauty of the design on the whores' every-day outfits never ceased to amaze her.

Nanako's hair was tied up in a complicated hairstyle, and held in place with a gold hairpin shaped into a lily. Apparently, today was lilies' day, because Chieko also wore a fancy royal blue kimono with silver lilies on it. And although she was not as beautiful as Nanako with her unruly hair held down, Chieko thought she looked at least a little bit pretty.

(And maybe the lily theme was because it was the Red Lily House. Who knew?)

Chieko trotted next to Nanako, who seemed genuinely happy to take Chieko out with her. That was one of her favourite things about the older girl: she didn't give a damn about others' opinions and had always taken Chieko's defence – unless Chieko was at fault, but hey, could one really blame her for putting itching powder in Hikari's futon?

"I'm gonna get the fish," announced Nanako. "Wait for me here, will you, Chieko-chan?"

"Hai, Nana-nee-chan."

And so Chieko patiently waited for her keeper to return. She didn't mind, it allowed her to observe her surroundings. She was still amazed at how little technology there existed in this world; there were no shopping centres or skyscrapers, only little houses much similar to traditional houses in old japan. The living conditions were quite rudimentary, with their basic plumbing and wooden houses, but Chieko liked it. It was authentic, and as someone that'd lived in a world where only aesthetics counted, with grand cities and a frivolous way of life, she gladly welcomed the more traditional ways of living.

Not that the town was tranquil and dead, quite the contrary. As Chieko realized, it buzzed with activity, the market was crowded; with many people passing by and the merchants' yells.

"I'm done," Nanako interrupted her thoughts. "Let's go by some fruits, shall we?"

Oh yes, fruits. Fruits were good. Chieko hopped down the bench she had been sitting on, and followed Nanako. The teenager led them into the crowded market place Chieko had been observing, and she suddenly realized the multiple stares she was receiving.

Why were they looking at her like that?

…

… Ah, yes. The 'I'm a bastard' issue at hand, here. Well, Chieko wasn't very worried; if anyone had something to say about her existence, they would have to face Nanako's temper, and if after that, they had objections, Chieko wished them luck. Sayuri-obaa-sama's wrath was legendary, and feared. The woman was the most respected matron of the Red-Light District for a reason.

"Watch 'here you goin', wench" a rude and harsh voice brought her back to reality, and Chieko realized she'd bumped into a middle aged drunk.

...That was just plain rude.

"What did you just say?!"

Oops. Was that said aloud? She should stop speaking her thoughts out in the open. Not good. She could already hear the scolding Nanako would undoubtedly give her.

"Oi, scum!" the man called her once more when she didn't respond to him. He reeked of cheap alcohol, and spluttered all over her face.

"… _Gross_." She distinctly heard Nanako, who'd come back on her steps once she'd realized Chieko wasn't following anymore, slap her forehead in exasperation.

"Answer me when I speak, wench!"

The man raised a hand to strike her, but the hit never came. Instead, the delicate hand of Nanako had stopped the brute to reach his target, and Chieko stared in awe as the blonde started to tighten her hold on the man's wrist.

"You should leave," she said pleasantly, a _scary_ smile gracing her painted red lips."Or else I may break _every_ bone in your arm _accidently_."

She released her hold, and the drunk stepped away rapidly, cradling his arm in pain. Chieko, on the other hand, was amazed.

… Nanako was a badass.

Definitely. The. Best. Babysitter. _Ever_.

"Chieko-chan, hurry up!" Nanako shouted, and Chieko saw her about twenty feet away already. That girl was fast.

As they entered the market place, Chieko got overwhelmed by the multiple scents enveloping the area. It smelled of freshly cut flowers, strong spices, cooking goods, and fruits. It reminded Chieko of the food market in Camden, back in her beloved London, and she found herself enjoying her time; passing by the numerous stands that sold food, jewellery, and clothing with amazement, despite the number of people.

She wasn't a people person. And yet, against her will, Chieko started to enjoy talking to sellers and tasting their products.

(This world wasn't so bad after all, generosity and genuine kindness still existed. She had almost forgotten.)

Chieko supposed it was one of the benefits – or drawbacks, it depended on one's viewpoint – of reincarnation: you didn't stay the same forever. You adapted to the situation, you changed. She'd lived too lives so far, and in each one she'd grown up learning two entirely different cultures. It made her full of contradictions, but why would she complain? It made her interesting.

"Can we buy some of these?" she pointed at the stand she'd been eyeing for a while, one selling pomegranates and other fruits.

It looked like pomegranates, and Chieko hoped they were. Her prayers were answered when she distinctly read 'pomegranates' on one of the signs on the stand.

(Her reading technique, as well as her calligraphy, were coming along nicely. She would be able to read and write perfectly with a little more practice. And, without being arrogant, she could affirm she was getting quite skilled with words.)

"Why not? I know Kana and Fuyumi like these…" Nanako pondered, her brow furrowed in thought. "And you do too, don't you?"

"They're… my favourite?"

Her cheeks heated up at the confession, and Chieko damned herself for being so shy. What could she say, she had always had a sweet tooth. And she wouldn't miss any pomegranate for the world.

"Alright then, I'm taking a few. And pears for our dessert."

… She hated pears. Surely, Nanako remembered that, right? Glancing at the blonde, Chieko realized that yes, Nanako remembered perfectly. The malicious glint and teasing smile she wore spoke for themselves, and the blonde burst out laughing.

"I'm just teasing, no need to look so alarmed!" she ruffled Chieko's hair. "Come on, I wanna show you the castle."

The groceries bought, Chieko followed Nanako, bouncing lightly in excitation. At last, the thing she'd come for!

The castle was great. Majestic, it stood proudly, overhanging the entire town. It was no wonder why so many tourists came around to see it.

Chieko, however, couldn't bring herself to enjoy the view it offered.

"Nana-onee-sama…?" she inquired quietly, trying to keep her unease at bay.

"Hm?"

"Where do we live, exactly?"

She'd seen this castle before. It didn't make sense. Her memory had always been a reliable, even infallible, but this… This simply wasn't possible. There was no way this was real. She couldn't believe the sight in front of her eyes.

"Oh, in Tanzaku, sweetie." Nanako finally answered, oblivious to Chieko's inner turmoil. "And this is the Fire Daimyo's palace, Tanzaku Castle!"

Fire…? Oh god, she'd been right.

… At least, it wasn't Water.

* * *

 **Edited – 02/04/17**

 **A/N: First proper chapter, yay? This one took me a long time to re-write to my liking, and I'll confess I'm quite happy with how it turned out. It was a lot shorter originally, with barely 3000 words, and, in my opinion, underdeveloped, but I tried my best to correct it. Thoughts?**

 **Hyperthymesia is a pathology, of sort, and is the condition of possessing an extremely detailed autobiographical memory; which is a memory system consisting of episodes of an individual's life. These episodes are based on a combination of episodic (personal experiences and particular events of the individual's life) and semantic (general knowledge of facts about the world) memory. Thus, hyperthymesia is very explicit and extremely rare. Carrie, from _Unforgettable_ , is hyperthymestic. I wanted Chieko to have a justification for all her perfect memories, so here it is. As reincarnation, in this story, can happen to anyone, hyperthymesia fits my purposes whereas an average human memory doesn't (even if my own semantic and episodic memories are quite detailed, but that sadly isn't the case for most people).**

 **So there you go.**

 **As I said in the first version, I'll try to make all the chapters even, around 5000 words. For the first part, at least (which is Chieko's childhood), because I've no idea how it'll turn up after the Naruto plot's start.**

 **Overall, chapter two was about setting in the décor and relationships, and of course, make Chieko realize what kind of shit she's ended up in. Did I do a decent job at it?**

 **Review your impressions (and love) and let me know of your possible questions regarding this story.**

 **Nanabooks out.**

 **PS: This chapter initially contained a bonus, with Nanako's point of view, but I deleted it for now. It'll probably reappear in a future chapter, we shall see.**


	3. Doom falls

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way (though I wish many characters were mine). I only own the multiple OCs such as Chieko, Nanako or Hikari-bitch. I make no profit from this story - aaand this fiction has no beta.**

 **A/N: New chapter down, brand new, and rewritten entirely. See you down there!**

 **Answers to reviews:**

 **Calcu22: Thanks. ;)**

 **OTrizy: I don't know, I think all authors are just big bullies, myself included. And sadly no, no amazing bloodline, even though she does have something. Otherwise she'd go down the feared Mary-Sue path, and that doesn't sit well with me.**

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 **Wisdom**

A Naruto fan fiction story

 _Wisdom_ © Nanabooks

 _Naruto_ © Masashi Kishimoto

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 **CHAPTER III**

 **Doom falls**

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 _Lie._

 _It was all a lie._

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A blonde head peered through the door.

"Hey, have you read it yet?"

"Go 'way, Mason, I'm nearly done."

A sigh from her boyfriend, and he left the room without any word. The door closed and his footsteps echoed through the corridor. Sage turned the page she'd read, and her eyes immediately found the next. She could keep going like for hours, she knew, but it wouldn't happen today.

She was reading the last chapter, after all.

She didn't know how she'd come to the point where every detail of this story was carved in her outstanding memory, never to be forgotten. She wondered if she would still remember it when she'd be old and wrinkly. A part of her hoped so, because this story was amazing and never failed to make Sage nostalgic – another, the cynical part, the one that considered her pathology a hindrance, wanted it erased from her memory forever.

It was Mason who'd pushed her into it, being the giant nerd he was, and Sage, with a smile, thought it had probably been his biggest mistake. She'd literally been obsessed with it since he'd introduced her to the story.

The last page was read avidly, none of its details escaping her eye, and Sage sighed. A knock on her door, and then:

"You done yet?"

"…Yes."

"Well go on then, tell me!" Mason pressed in this adorable way of his. She wasn't in love with the guy, but he held a special place in her heart. "How was it?"

"… Unsatisfying," Sage answered after a while. "I feel… frustrated, in a way."

"I know, right? Simply unacceptable. The ending frustrated more than satisfied my inner nerd."

Sage laughed. "Well, there's still the anime to look forward to, I guess."

"It might be less frustrating, who knows?" she wondered aloud.

"We'll see, my lady, but I seriously doubt it. Shall we go to dinner now?" Mason offered her his arm, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Sage smiled fondly.

"You go ahead. I need a minute."

"Saying goodbye, are we?"

"… Shut up."

She smirked at her boyfriend and turned around, and Mason left the room once more. She observed the book's cover, marvelling at every memory it evoked her; and she smiled. She put the book back on the shelf.

"Goodbye, _Naruto_."

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After reincarnation, Chieko had thought nothing had the ability to surprise her anymore. She had, after all, already lived and experienced plenty of different things, and there remained little to discover about life's mysteries.

Naïve, foolish thought.

As she found herself standing in front of Tanzaku Castle's giganticness, Chieko thought, cynically, that there were still mysteries in this world, after all.

Her mind raced, and breath hitched and her heart pounded furiously in her chest; her mind screaming profanities and her heart swelling up with excitation.

It was a lie.

It simply wasn't possible.

Of all the alternative worlds she could have ended up in, why did she find herself in _Naruto_? Why not _Britannia_?

(Britannia was nice. Not too cold and not too hot, with an interesting plot and amazing magic to discover. The only downside was the demons, of course, but who cared about that when there were _fairies_ and _giants_ walking around?)

The answer was simple, obviously, but it didn't reassure Chieko in the slightest. Fate was definitely a _bitch_. She didn't mind being reincarnated, really, but in _Naruto_? Seriously? No way – these kinds of things only happened in fiction.

(Naruto was a good fiction. If one liked ninjas and blood. She'd thought the plot extremely interesting, with no detail that proved irrelevant in it. She liked it. In _fiction_ , though.)

 _Why was she in this fucked up world?_

Fate really wanted her to get creative this time, didn't it?

(At least now she would be able to leave with a _bang_ , y'know?)

Chieko was losing herself in a colourful bunch of completely opposite feelings. On one hand, she wanted to laugh hysterically at the new perspectives this world offered her, and shout her glee about being reincarnated in a world of fiction on the rooftops. On the other, she desperately needed to cry because this was a world where excitement came along with death and danger, she wanted to crawl into a hole and wait until someone made it all better.

Above all, she was homesick.

She missed her grandmother, and her long-lost mother's hugs she hadn't felt in a very long time. She missed her cuddle times with her cat and the familiar, comforting scent of pine and cinnamon cookies that made home, _Home_.

Despite living in this world – _Naruto_ 's – for almost three years, Chieko didn't consider herself as part of it. It wasn't her world. The places and the people walking among it weren't _hers._ She was an outsider.

She didn't belong there. She realized she didn't belong _anywhere_.

She had died. She didn't exist anymore.

 _It was all a lie_.

Chieko panicked. She heard choked, distressed whimpers, before realizing it was of her own doing. Flashes of her past and missed life were displayed endlessly in front of her eyes, and the flow didn't seem to stop.

(She'd been stupid and reckless when she'd thought her rebirth hadn't affected her. It had, slowly destroying her on the inside.)

"Chieko-chan?!" the voice was barely audible to her. Hands frantically roamed over her tiny body, in a haste that showed worry. "Answer me! Are you alright?!"

Tears welding up in her eyes, Chieko didn't answer Nanako. Instead, she cried.

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Neither Nanako or Chieko talked about that fateful day, and Chieko was happy the older girl minded her own business. Nanako had probably told Sayuri-obaa-sama – and, eventually, her mother – but both had yet to bring up the matter. Well, Sayuri-sama had, because her mother had entirely vanished from Chieko's life, visiting her only when she deemed fit, which was less than once a week. It hurt, but Chieko knew better than to dwell on it too long.

She had turned three. Her birthday had been spent with Sayuri-obaa-sama and Nanako, and they had started initiating her to the ways of a lady – a polite version of 'the way of the whores', in Chieko's humble opinion. With that introduction, Chieko had received her token of her belonging to the Red Lily: a single earing. It was a beautiful work of art, made of clear and delicate stone with golden hues, shaped in the form of a rain drop – Chieko had irked at the thought. Carved on it was a complicated pattern of a white lily.

(She had inquired why it wasn't red, since the brothel was the _Red_ Lily, but Sayuri-obaa-sama had explained it depended on her personal ranking of people she knew – to which Nanako had added that Chieko was no doubt Sayuri-obaa-sama's favourite, and therefore the one with the most stylish and purest design of all. Chieko's cheeks had hurt from smiling too much after that.)

Anyway, today's lesson consisted in the art of flower arrangement. _Ikebana_ , if one wanted to be specific.

"You're bending the flower too much," Sayuri-obaa-sama's voice interrupted her. "Besides, the colours don't match."

Blinking owlishly at her grandmother in all but blood, Chieko glanced at her unfinished work. Then promptly jerked back in horror. How could she have possibly…? Was it even _possible_ to create something so horrifyingly _ugly_? To say that the colours didn't match was an understatement. Not only the tints didn't match, but they _clashed_ ; and Chieko restrained a groan from escaping her mouth as she realized the various flowers' meanings were completely different too.

She knew that once she was focused on a task, she very well forgot about everything else around her, but this was simply embarrassing. The artist within her was screaming.

Feeling the heat going up to her cheeks, Chieko blessed the gods above she had inherited her mother's dark skin. She looked at Sayuri-obaa-sama, who was watching her intently, the barest hint of amusement flickering in her grey eyes, and nudged her with the flower she was holding.

"Try again, Chieko."

Not needing to be told twice, Chieko settled to work once again. She dismantled her previous attempt carefully, making sure she didn't break any of the flowers she'd used, and started again. Starting over was probably unnecessary, but Chieko was a perfectionist.

(Which was extremely odd, considering her past-self had been everything but organized – yet imperfect work irritated her to no end.)

And, she didn't want to disappoint Sayuri-obaa-sama.

The woman was very supportive of Chieko's skills, after all. Chieko supposed she wanted her to know enough to survive if she decided one day to leave the brothel, and it only improved Chieko's opinion of her. She would do anything to satisfy Sayuri-obaa-sama, and if it implied learning lady stuff, then she would do it.

Sayuri-obaa-sama didn't expect anything from her, Chieko knew, but she wanted to make her proud and stop being a burden – because, as unnerving as it was, Chieko was _definitely_ one. The only way for her to repay Sayuri-obaa-sama's kindness was to live up to her unconscious expectations.

Chieko admired the woman.

(Hell, she _loved_ her. And she wasn't biased because Sayuri-obaa-sama had been a kunoichi once. Not at all. The woman was simply awesome.)

Sayuri-obaa-sama could appear stern and severe, but Chieko knew it was all a façade she wore to dissuade the 'annoying ones', as she herself called them. Sometimes, you could perceive the remains of her kunoichi training in her grey eyes, and the way she held herself. Her head would tilt ever so slightly, and her eyes would narrow; and Sayuri-obaa-sama would look at her opponent with a predator's eyes. Chieko admired the sheer power Sayuri-obaa-sama would show then, with her killing intent flowing in the room.

The woman was terrifying, but Chieko wasn't exactly sane, and therefore was able to see past her façade. Sayuri-obaa-sama wasn't someone to mess with, but she wasn't _twisted_. She was kind, fair, and treated everyone as an equal. She was the matron, after all, and she cared for all her girls with the same fierceness. She was neutral, and never got involved into the whores' quarrels.

Sayuri-obaa-sama was simply too rare not to admire.

To Chieko, though – and that was her favourite thing about the woman – she offered her rare smiles, and the familiar twinkle of pride in her eyes. She tended to Chieko like a grandmother would to her grandchild, and managed to treat her like an adult, and not a three-year-old unintelligible infant.

(Probably because she'd realized, at some point, that Chieko wasn't a normal child.)

To be considered and addressed to as an adult was a delightful feeling, one Chieko had come to miss upon her reincarnation. Sayuri-obaa-sama had changed all that.

Chieko sighed again as she realized that once more, her flowers didn't match. She undid all her work, and began rearranging them again, under Sayuri-obaa-sama's cautious stare.

(The woman had come to realize that Chieko could transform even the most harmless tasks into tools of mass destruction and mayhem ever since her calligraphy lessons.)

As Chieko had learned, Ikebana was more than simply putting flowers in a container. It was, as Sayuri-sama had once told her, a 'disciplined art form in which nature and humanity come together'. A textbook quote, more than likely, but her point had been made. The art of flower arrangement didn't only rest on the colour, though. Ikebana was more than that: it was also about shapes, lines, and of course, meaning. It was paired with hanakotoba – the language of flowers. Ikebana wasn't just an expression of one's creativity, there were _rules_.

Finally, she managed to create an acceptable piece of art on her sixth try – the previous ones being absolutely disastrous. She presented it to Sayuri-obaa-sama, who smiled and nodded in approval.

"Not bad, Chieko. You're improving. Time to learn a new skill."

Chieko's shoulders slumped in relief, and she smiled. Excitement took over her at the perspective of learning a new skill, because knowledge was one of her weaknesses.

She shouldn't have.

Koto was simply _evil_.

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Chakra was, essentially, the mix of one's spiritual and physical energy. It was complicated to access it the first few times, or so Chieko had read; but as she felt the familiar and yet foreign warmth spreading within her, she guessed she wasn't half bad at it.

For a third try, it wasn't anything to sniff at. She felt quite proud of herself, considering chakra was a completely foreign concept to her, and the numerous difficulties Naruto had faced – though it was because of his monstrous chakra reserves. Chieko's own reserves, however, felt oddly bigger than those she thought a child her age was supposed to possess, but as she had only basic knowledge of chakra and its uses and no experience with it whatsoever, she could only theorize.

With a shrug, Chieko focused on the task at hands: her chakra.

Trying to mould it wasn't a pleasant and easy thing to do, either, so she figured she would better practise as often as she could.

She had decided, upon the news of _where_ exactly she had ended up after reincarnation, that learning how to manipulate her own chakra may be a good idea. She wasn't certain of her next step, yet, but the possible options presenting themselves to her regarding her future were pretty clear.

She certainly wasn't going to become a whore. Selling her body to earn a livelihood was certainly not an option, and she'd decided to leave the brothel once she was independent enough to travel on her own. She could become an artist, like her past-self had, and live on the road while selling her art, but that kind of life was a bit boring – and too much like her past one had been.

Another strong fact that influenced her choice of options was her will to survive. She'd died once already, and she refused to end up killed as a harmless civilian – that would be the epitome of boring.

Her only viable option was to become a ninja, but she found herself reluctant to become one. She loved their life style, obviously, but there were so many things wrong with their system. The brainwashing of the younger generations, for one. The endless cycle of hate and death each village inflicted upon the other was terribly wrong too. Her past-world had seen wars, yes, but not as many as this world did, and certainly not as pointless.

(Fight and kill to protect? She had no problem with that, she would even gladly stab anyone who dared hurt her people or home. Fighting over some gold and possible extension of territory? Fight to destroy, to annihilate the enemy, simply to prove superiority? It only contributed to the general hate among the villages and caused pointless deaths. Do refer to Hatake Sakumo's suicide for further explanation.)

Ninja life was amazing, yes. You lived your life your way, to its full potential; exactly like Chieko had meant to in her first life, but you had to kill and destroy to earn it.

She was still pondering whether she should follow that path or not, and that was why she was practising chakra control today. She'd thought it could help her see things differently.

Had she been born in a hidden village, Chieko had little doubt she wouldn't have gotten engaged onto the ninja path, with the constant brainwashing and propaganda. But in Tanzaku, a touristic town with mostly civilians, she had _options_. They were limited, and she probably wouldn't choose them, but they were options nonetheless.

And Chieko was grateful for that, because she hadn't had a lot of these in her past life.

Back to chakra, she'd tried to mould the stuff once or twice already, but this was actually her first success.

Chieko couldn't fight the cheek-splitting grin that appeared on her face when the leaf she'd been trying to stick to her forehead didn't fall, remaining firmly in place.

This was the most entertaining thing she'd ever done. It was simply fascinating.

Splitting chakra all over the world was _definitely_ something Kaguya had done right. Bless that psycho.

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"Come back here, you _filth_!" Hikari-bitch's ear-splitting shriek echoed through the whole brothel, and Chieko quickly turned right in hopes of losing the bloody banshee.

To her credit, it wasn't Chieko's fault. The whore had it coming. Not only she'd slapped her twice this week, but she'd said Nanako didn't deserve to live here in the brothel, because she was 'some stupid and filthy peasant from Iwa'. Chieko hadn't liked it. When the woman had started to rant to her fellow whores about how Sayuri-obaa-sama was 'senile, allowing a dirty bastard child to roam around in her brothel, spreading her filthiness', Chieko had seen red.

No one insulted Sayuri-obaa-sama and got away with it. _No one_.

Chieko turned left, this time, and continued to walk away at a steady – and quick – pace.

"Filth! Come back here, _monstrous child_!"

No really, the bitch deserved it. Chieko was immensely proud of what she'd done.

Hikari was the second most popular whore of the Red Lily brothel – Chieko's mother being the most demanded, even after her pregnancy, something that infuriated Hikari-bitch to no end. She took great pride in her looks, with her dreamy features and luscious body. Narcissistic as she was, the woman compared her eyes to 'bright sapphires that reflect my undeniable beauty', but Chieko was inclined to say they were a cloudy blue – _boring_. Hikari-bitch took particularly care of her 'long, perfect and silky' mint green hair – a simply unnatural hair colour that Chieko had a hard time to consider beautiful.

So, Chieko had tainted it green. Muddy green, of course, with leaves and dirt added to the mix, in an attempt of realism.

(A much more suitable colour, if you wanted her opinion on the matter; and it was one of her most beautiful and magnificently executed piece of art yet.)

Her plan had been perfect, except for the not-getting-caught part. Hikari-bitch had ditched her client and showered much earlier than Chieko had planned.

Oh well, at least now she wouldn't have to exercise.

.

"I can't believe the nerve of you!"

Chieko had the decency to look sheepish, knowing that laughing her ass off wouldn't do her any good in this situation. Nanako faced her, blond hair escaping from her bun, hands on her hips, her blue eyes thunderous and a frown marring her lips.

Sadly, Chieko had been caught by Nanako before she could fully escape Hikari-bitch's wrath. She'd saved her from it, though – and had immediately started to scold her instead.

"I can't believe it!" Nanako repeated, throwing her hands up and messing with her already very messy bun. "Tainting her hair brown– "

"–Err, green, actually, but– "

"You're just– wait, _green_?"

"Well…yes," Chieko owlishly answered at Nanako's puzzled look. "Poop green, if you want to be specific, but– "

Nanako interrupted her. "It was _green_?"

Chieko nodded, a bit put off by the blonde's sudden surprise. The teenager's expression turned pensive for a moment, before she fell into a fit of giggles.

 _What…?_

" _Green_!? I thought… It was so muddy I thought it was _brown_!" she hissed between fits, holding her sides.

"Well, brown's boring." Chieko explained. Then, with a malicious smirk, "And the happy camper look totally suits her."

Nanako didn't respond to that, instead, she went into another roar of laughter. Chieko observed, waiting for her to calm down; and quite proud of herself, if her cat-ate-the-canary grin was any indication – even if the joke was lame. Nanako had been hurt by Hikari-bitch's untruthful comments, and seeing her smiling again was great.

"Oh god, I needed that," Nanako told her after a moment, patting her head. "Thanks, brat."

Chieko only smiled.

"You're not out of trouble, though."

She paled at Nanako's smug and – slightly sadistic? – expression.

"Hikari's the one to take care of you tonight."

Sorry, _what_? Please let it be a joke. She couldn't deal with the bitch right now, not after such an admirable and beautifully executed prank. The woman would kill her on the spot.

"Why can't you?" Chieko asked, her lips pursing slightly in a frown.

Nanako's face turned into a sheepish expression, and… God, was that a _blush_?

"I have a client tonight." She explained, and Chieko watched silently as her cheeks took a red hue. She raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"He's, um, a regular." Nanako explained, fidgeting under Chieko's stare. "Always asks for me. Adorable fella. He moved in a town few months ago, to, um, purse his studies in poetry… Something like that."

Oh, a poet then? Not what she'd expected, but she could work with that. A bit too romantic, maybe.

"Oooh?" Chieko mused aloud. "And does this… _adorable_ fella know you have a crush on him?"

"W-What?"

To her credit, Nanako only blushed a little. All her emotions flashed in her blue eyes, though, and Chieko smirked inwardly. Teasing people was _so much fun_. And a flustered Nanako was simply too cute.

When the blonde didn't answer, Chieko pursued her tease.

"Wait, does _he_ have a thing for _you_?"

This time, the reddish hue on Nanako's cheeks darkened.

"N-no way. 'Don't know what you're talking about, un." She denied, but her deep blush said it all.

Chieko eyed her, amused. The return of her verbal tick – which was Earth's version of a southern accent, she supposed – only proved Chieko was right. It was amusing, because Chieko wasn't supposed to even know about this stuff, and she thoroughly enjoyed teasing Nanako.

She hummed, not convinced by Nanako's denial one bit. Ignoring the indignant look the blonde was throwing her way, Chieko brought her palms under her chin and thought about the matter at hand.

It made sense, she supposed, that a random guy was interested in Nanako. She was one of the prettiest geisha around and – even if that kind of mentality was overrated in Chieko's mind – no man would have to worry about her virtue. Now, Chieko had never met the man Nanako kept ranting about, but she had no doubt he'd been, at first, only attracted to the blonde because of her looks.

Nanako wasn't outstandingly beautiful – not like Chieko's mother, anyway – but she was pretty and charming. Her European-derived looks, with her blonde hair and bright blue eyes, never failed to attract attention. Her figure was flawless, her proportions nearly perfect, and was educated.

(As sad as it was, it appeared that traditional education was not one of the Fire Daimyō's priority; especially if it concerned women. The Land of Fire's ruler was a jerk (and his wife was guilty of animal abuse). But then again, Chieko hadn't expected anything less from a politician and noble. And she seriously doubted it wasn't the case for any of the other Lands out there.)

Nanako was extremely intelligent too, and wasn't someone one would cross deliberately – Sayuri-obaa-sama had trained her in the shinobi arts, after all, and that fact alone sufficed to scare annoying people away. She was kind, and always bubbling with happiness. Her optimism made her naïve, a little dumb sometimes – in Chieko's pragmatist's opinion – , but those only made Nanako's qualities shine brighter.

Overall, it made sense that Nanako's affections were sought. Chieko only hoped it was a good guy – or else she would have to… change the course of things.

"Makes sense," she concluded, and Nanako got even redder.

"Anyway!" Nanako interrupted her before Chieko could rant on how amazing her sister figure was. "I'm leaving now, before you get any, um, strange ideas. Have fun!" she finished cheerfully, knowing perfectly well that an afternoon in Hikari-bitch's company was the exact opposite of fun.

"Yeah," Chieko responded dryly, tilting her head in a completely unimpressed fashion.

Before Nanako had the chance to leave the room, though, she added:

"What's his name?"

"None of your business, un!"

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 _Oiran_ were courtesans. They were, before being women of pleasure, entertainers. As such, it was expected of them to be well-educated, and initiated to the arts of ikebana, sadō and calligraphy; as well to be able to play shamisen, koto, and various other instruments. They were higher in the social hierarchy than the _yūjo_ , simple prostitutes, distinguished because of their skills as entertainers. Some of them were even pretty famous outside of the Red-Light District, because their prestige was based on their beauty, education and artistic abilities rather than their lineage.

They were different from the geishas, who, aside from possessing the same skills an _oiran_ had, were simple hostesses in charge of entertaining the clients, and were forbidden to sell their bodies, which was the oirans' work.

In the Red Lily brothel, there were many geishas and their maikos – apprentices –, such as Nanako and Fuyumi; but also oirans, such as Chieko's mother and, sadly, Hikari-bitch.

Her mother was the only _tayū_ – most famous, most demanded, and most pricey courtesan – of the Red Lily, followed closely by Hikari-bitch, who was only one step under her, a _kōshi_. Above them stood Sayuri-obaa-sama, who was the matron and – basically – their boss.

As a tayū, Chieko's mother's prices were extremely high, with a fee far more expensive than any citizen of Tanzaku could afford; yet, the demands for her entertainment – and sexual favours – never diminished in number. A tayū had the right to refuse clients, though – and her mother certainly did that a lot these days.

So, why hadn't she come to see her daughter yet?

True, the woman hadn't been present ever since she'd started to work again, probably ashamed of her childbirth – and, consequently, of Chieko. She avoided her own daughter, only seeing her when ultimately necessary – after a while, those occasions had become rarer and rarer, finally reduced to once a month.

Chieko had dealt with rejection before. Rejection was _okay_ , she could handle it; even if it was sad to realize it'd become _fine_. Her mother didn't care for Chieko anymore.

(At this, she remembered the beautiful songs the woman had sung to her when she'd been nothing but a crying mess, and her heart clenched with nostalgia and sadness.)

She'd thought, stupidly, that even if her mother faced hatred and despise because of her existence, the woman would realize, at some point, that Chieko wasn't to blame for her poor treatment. People were stupid, and unnecessarily cruel towards those who didn't fit into the mould and broke taboos.

Chieko's mother had only ducked her head at the insults thrown her way and accepted them as the truth. She'd walked away from her daughter and started to hate her too.

(And the woman was obviously terrified of Chieko's abilities, with her undoubted genius and intelligence. Clearly, she viewed her daughter as some sort of monster; but Chieko didn't know that yet.)

That was fine, though.

Chieko had resigned herself to watch her mother from afar, and disappear from the woman's life. She didn't need her to accept or love her; Chieko only wanted to be able to keep an eye on her. That was all she desired.

Her desire to keep a watchful eye on her mother made her realize, after a while, that something was terribly off with her. Things between them were as inexistent as they'd always been, but this situation was different entirely, and extremely worrying.

Her mother was sick. Whether it was a disease – that hopefully would pass – or simply overwork, Chieko didn't know. But, at the back of her mind, swung an evil little thought; maybe her mother was sinking into depression.

Despite what Nanako told her, repeatedly, when she inquired about her mother's health - that her mother was simply not feeling well these days, and that it would be back to normal soon –, Chieko wasn't blind. And she _sure as hell_ wasn't stupid either.

(She was a lot of things, but stupid definitely wasn't one of them.)

She could see the hollow look in her mother's eyes, the black bags under them, the paleness of her face; the weak way she now held herself, as if it hurt to even stand, and the obvious malnutrition she no doubt suffered from.

Something was _wrong_ , and she wanted to know exactly what kind of issue was at hand here.

Chieko snapped her book closed with a sigh, and glanced at the clock. The night had already fallen, and the clock revealed it was past eight. Time to go back to her quarters, then. Maybe her mother would actually be there, as today was one of her off days. She always came in to sleep late at night and left before Chieko awakened.

Chieko was allowed into the brothel's library – which was fairly massive, bless Sayuri-obaa-sama's love for knowledge – four hours a day; otherwise, she'd been instructed to never leave her quarters. It was partly because of the other whores' treatments, but also because, it was, as Sayuri-obaa-sama had so nicely put it, "security measures, because we don't want a drunk pig hurting you again, do we, Chieko?" and Chieko understood perfectly. She would never go against that order – she _had_ , after all, been attacked by a paedophile one night, and had no desire to reiterate the experience.

Anyway, as confined as she was, Chieko had gotten bored pretty quickly. Which had provoked her sudden bibliophilic peak.

Her current reading was an extremely interesting book about poisons. A bit morbid, she supposed, but as she planned to become a ninja, eventually, she'd figured she better acquire information beforehand. She'd always had knack for dangerous products of nature itself, and 'Poisonous flowers of the Elemental Nations' had only sparked up her true passion about the subject.

The art of poisons, she knew, was her domain to master.

Anyway, she had to go back to her quarters and catch even the tiniest glimpse of her mother if she was lucky. She could always try to make things better between them – keyword on try.

When she entered the tayū's quarters – her mother's and her own chambers -, the first thing she noticed was the light. Or rather, the lack of; as the only source of lighting was the moon's celestial brightness – aaand she was getting too poetic. Poetry lessons with Nanako's boy, Jinchō, had done that to her.

Chieko only noticed her mother because she was bathing directly in the moonlight. Her back was facing her, and Chieko deduced she was probably admiring the moon, as it was full and outstandingly beautiful tonight.

(Part of her mind registered the situation extremely creepy, with the poor lighting, the shadows lurking around and the earie silence.)

Something akin to happiness fluttered in her heart at the sight of her mother, one of the most important women in Chieko's life, finally standing within her reach.

"Okaa-sama?" she inquired childishly, afraid to disturb the calm and welcomed silence between the two of them.

"Chieko… Is that you?" her mother turned to face her.

Worry panged at her chest when she took in the woman's appearance. She was deathly pale, her normally dark skin almost luminescent in the moonlight, and she seemed to have lost a lot of weight. Her cheekbones stood out unnaturally, and her usually so bright and lively green eyes were void of any light or warmth.

 _She looks like shit_ , Chieko thought. The hair on her arms were raising at the empty face the woman wore. How sick could she possibly be?

"Chieko… I was… Waiting… For you." Her mother said, breathing heavily, and uneasiness slowly creeped up Chieko's spine. Her voice, too, was void of any feeling.

"Waiting for me, Okaa-sama? Did you need me for something?"

Her mother didn't answer; her green eyes taking a dazed look. For a few seconds, she seemed to be completely disconnected from reality. Great, now Chieko was worried _and_ freaked out.

"Okaa-sama?" she asked a little quieter, her voice betraying her concern, "Okaa-sama, are you alright?"

Not the best of questions, she agreed, since obviously, nothing at this very moment seemed alright, but Chieko had bigger concerns than grammatical structures.

"Come closer," her mother rasped, "I want to see… Your face."

It was a rather strange – and spooky – request, as her mother hadn't looked at her for a long time, and had avoided any form of physical contact between them; but Chieko complied nonetheless. She cautiously made her made to her mother, her slow and quiet footsteps on the tatami echoing through the silent room, and stopped a few inches away from her mother.

A hand grazed her cheek, and the woman smiled at Chieko.

It wasn't a kind smile. It wasn't the bitter, full-of-hidden-hatred smirk she'd grown accustomed to see; but it wasn't the loving and gentle smile she'd seen in her early years either. No. This smile wasn't like any of the ones Chieko had witnessed in the past. This smile – it made Chieko's skin crawl with fear. This smile was _malevolent_ , and _evil_ , and it terrified Chieko to the core.

"Chieko… My beautiful baby girl…" her mother said, caressing her cheek. "Chieko… Beautiful child…" she trailed off, again, and again.

Chieko was certain she was trembling in fright now. Her legs felt like jelly, and her lungs were heaving with badly controlled panic. Her mother's grip tightened on her shoulders, so hard in fact that it hurt; as the woman's eyes dazed once more.

"Okaa-sama?" she squeaked for the umpteenth time, her voice betraying the terrified state she was in. Her mother's iron grip tightened even more.

But her mother didn't answer. She was miles away, it seemed, and she couldn't hear her at all. She was lost, trapped in her own mind. And Chieko recognized a psychotic crisis when she saw one. Her mother's eyes were nothing but a dark pool of cold emptiness, and it made her want to run away.

"Chieko…" her mother whispered again, and then a growl came up her throat, and she snarled.

" _Parasite_!"

The simple word, filled with venom and hatred and loathing and a million of other things, hit Chieko with the strength of an unstoppable hurricane. The hatred in this tiny, little, important word, made her choke and gasp for air; and the undeniable truth behind it brought tears to Chieko's eyes.

It was _true_. She didn't belong to this world. She was a dead woman, walking among the living with the face of a child. Perhaps it wasn't even her own face to begin with. Maybe her soul had kicked out the original Chieko and replaced her, when it shouldn't have.

God – _what could she answer to that?_

"Parasite!" her mother shrieked again, shaking Chieko back and forth violently. "What did you do to me?!" she screamed, relentless in her hate, and the insane look in her eyes made Chieko desperately want to escape. " _What did you do to me?!_ "

She let go of Chieko's shoulders brutally, shoving her onto the tatami floor; and Chieko rolled over like a rag-doll and hit her head against the kotetsu resting in the middle of the room.

"Why do you exist, you _parasite_?" the woman spat in despise, and only then did Chieko notice the extremely pointy knife she held in her hands.

The woman waved the weapon in her direction, an insane spark of sick intent dancing in those green eyes; and Chieko suddenly realized the woman wanted to murder her.

She froze.

(Water was filling her lungs and she couldn't breathe – and _ohgodpleasesomeonehelp_ – she was fighting desperately to survive – _pleasehelpme_ – _I'mgoingtodie_ –)

Terror flooded in her veins, her heart raced in fear, and her will to live had never shone so brightly among the ocean of her emotions before. She couldn't move, and she couldn't breathe and _ohgodwhatwashappening_ – and _pleaseIdon'twanttodieagain_ – and – and this hatred driven woman in front of her wasn't the mother she'd come to love. The ruthless monster attempting to murder her wasn't her mother. The psychotic woman facing her with a deadly knife did not look like the woman who'd given birth to her at all.

And suddenly, over the sound of her racing heart and trembling limbs, Chieko heard the screams stop. She raised her head, eyes wide in fear, to meet green eyes; and her mother ceased to move altogether to stare at her daughter.

"Chieko… Baby girl…" the woman muttered, her voice thick, and Chieko distinctly saw the tears running down her cheeks.

There was a heavy, tension-filled silence in the room; where only Chieko's erratic breathing echoed, and her dread filled the air. Her mother, still staring, tilted her head to the side, as if she was deep in thought; and her eyes were hazy again.

The hand holding the knife slowly raised, and then she said:

"Dead."

It sounded final.

Chieko was paralyzed.

She couldn't do anything but watch in horror, petrified, as the woman who'd given birth to her swiftly opened her own throat with the knife resting in her hands.

Blood splattered everywhere. A few drops splashed Chieko's skin.

And then she experienced an odd feeling, above the choked whimpers her mother was producing. The woman was only a couple of meters away from her, bleeding on her way to her death; her throat slashed wide open, her blood spreading all over the floors and gurgling noises escaping her, and _Chieko couldn't move_.

Her mind had gone blank at the sight of her mother's suicide. A terrible, horrifying coldness was had taken over her heart, and all she did was stare. Her mother was dying in front of her eyes; and all Chieko could do was watch with cold detachment, because she was empty.

Void took possession of her then. Time didn't exist. Reality seemed far away, in that frozen sate of hers; where all she did was stare blankly at her mother's corpse.

Chieko was only three years old when Death confronted her for the time since her rebirth. And she would never, ever forget it; because whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was her mother's lifeless green eyes, her face set into an expression of silent accusation. Chieko would never forget, because every time she went to sleep, she could hear her mother's screams and the disgusting gurgling noises that came afterwards; and the word 'Parasite' playing endlessly in her mind.

* * *

 **Edited 21/02/07**

 **A/N: I had this chapter rewritten since the first week of february. I was just too fucking lazy to do something about it. Last glimpse of Chieko's (irrelevant-to-the-plot) mother, I'm afraid. The final scene was probably the hardest thing to write so far - I'm no good with drama, it just annoys me to no end (I'm not the most logical person out there).**

 **Anyway, the kinda-domestic scenes between Nanako, Sayuri and Chieko were cringey to write, because their psyches are still blurry to me... But I'm getting somewhere! This fiction is an experiment, anyway, so I have to start with something, right?**

 **(I'm also working on a one-shot featuring an OC, cakes and Kakashi. Don't know why since I barely have to time to work on Wisdom, but _whatever_...)**

 **The next two chapters will probably be mixed into one or... I actually don't know yet, I'm only half-through chapter four. I'm getting there, though. Bear with me.**

 **Thoughts? Please review your opinions, makes me feel important (do take this to the 3000th degree.).**

 **If anyone cares to guess, I've hidden a few references in there.**

 **On that note, Nanabooks out!**


	4. A wild Hokage appears

**Disclaimer: cf. copyright below, but I do not own Naruto (otherwise, many catastrophes would have happened), only my OCs and the plot. I obviously am not making any money from this, and currently broke af.**

 **A/N: FINALLY. This was edited and reformed by yours truly, do appreciate reading. I shall see you at the end of this chapter.**

 **Answers to reviews:**

 **Calcu22: You know, I fucking love your reviews. I'm glad you think the scene was intense, cuz' being the one writing it, I find it dull. It's nice to know it actually isn't. Thank you!**

 **OTrizy: Thank you, thank you, thank _you_.**

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 **Wisdom**

A Naruto fan fiction story

 _Wisdom_ © Nanabooks

 _Naruto_ © Masashi Kishimoto

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 **CHAPTER IV**

 **A wild Hokage appears**

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Nanako was the first one to walk in on the bloody scene.

Chieko heard her scream and call for help, in a distant part of her mind.

She surely was quite the sight to behold, with her wild hair likely coated in blood, the splatters on her face, the silent tears running down her cheeks and the utterly empty look in her eyes. She hadn't moved.

Her mother's dead eyes were still looking up at her accusingly. The woman's delicate hands laid lifeless and cold in the pool of blood surrounding her; which had soaked the beautiful kimono she'd worn before killing herself.

Chieko stayed unmoving.

She stared until someone forcibly took her away from the red – _red_ – **_red_** – scene.

Days passed by. They turned into weeks, probably, she had no idea of time in her trauma-induced catatonic brain; but Chieko didn't bulge out of her apathetic state.

Her mother's funeral was a small one. There were only Sayuri-obaa-sama, Nanako, Chieko, and the priest who did the ceremony. After that, her mother's corpse – _cold and full of hatred and bloody_ – was incinerated. Chieko watched blankly as the burning, starving tongues of fire swallowed the first person she'd seen in this life.

(Her fascination for fire resurfaced at that point.)

She'd taken a life, albeit indirectly. She'd killed.

(She'd killed, and she didn't even know her victim's name. _She didn't know her mother's name_.)

Chieko found out she didn't _care_.

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 **Sayuri**

"Sayuri-okaa-sama!"

Sayuri heard Hikari enter her quarters before she saw her. It wasn't surprising, as she'd enrolled as a kunoichi in her youth; and Hikari was about as discreet as a bull in a china shop.

The girl barged into the room, her cheeks flushed from running through the brothel corridors. The doors she'd unceremoniously opened banged against the wall, and Sayuri felt her eye twitch, annoyance resurfacing once more at the sight of Hikari walking in like she owned the place.

"What is it?" Sayuri asked, not even bothering to greet the idiot at her door.

"Sayuri-okaa-sama, your guest has arrived!"

Oh? He was quite early. She hadn't expected him for another week.

"Hm? What are you waiting for, then? Welcome them."

There was an indignant huff and Sayuri finally looked up from the pile of paperwork she'd been working on before Hikari's rude interruption, and raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"What is it?" she asked at Hikari's ridiculous pout.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" the girl yelled at her, and Sayuri felt herself turn cold and uncaring.

"I wasn't aware you ran the place, Hikari," Sayuri objected, her cold and poised voice cutting through the thick amount of killing intent present in the room.

Hikari took instinctively a few steps back and held her arms defensively. "But… I am the tayū of this brothel!"

This time, Sayuri didn't conceal the wave of murderous intent rolling off her.

" _Tayū_?" she scoffed in disbelief.

"Don't make me laugh, girl. You're not becoming a tayū anytime soon. You're not worthy of the title. _You_ are nothing but a petty, greedy, and cocky girl with _nothing_ special," Sayuri stated coldly. "Show your matron some respect, and be grateful I don't throw you out."

This idiotic girl thought the world was hers. Sayuri had to show her she was nothing but a nuisance. She was, after all, the main cause of Akane's decaying health and recent death. She refocused her attention on her work once more, not sparring Hikari a second glance.

"I expect you to greet our guests with the respect they deserve. Leave."

Hikari stumbled at her tone full of despise, still in shock and trembling from Sayuri's enunciation of truths, and hastily left the quarters. Good riddance.

Sayuri didn't care what happened to Hikari. She'd cared for the girl; she'd taken her in, given her a proper education, treated her like her own kin, and she'd only gold envious stares and endless greed from it. Hikari, on this day, was nothing more than an annoying insect Sayuri would gladly squash under her shoe.

The ones who betrayed her became trash in her eyes. She'd no need to care about a traitor's business, as it was likely he or she would betray her again.

(It was lesson she had learned the hard way.)

As she walked down the corridors of her brothel, Sayuri reminisced. She let her memories flow in her head; and she remembered Akane, and how miserable she'd thought the young girl to be.

She still didn't know, to this day, why exactly Akane had travelled all the way to Fire in her search for work. Kumo, in the Land of Lightning, was very far away, after all.

Sayuri had taken an immediate liking to the quiet, kind and talented girl. She'd taken her in almost immediately, and taught her the strings of her line of work – prostitution. She'd raised the teen into a proper courtesan, and had been overjoyed when the girl had shown herself worthy of becoming a tayū.

She'd come to see Akane as her second daughter – and Sayuri was certain her biological daughter would have approved.

(She needed to ask her guest how her daughter was doing, by the way. She saw too little of her own family these days.)

Anyway, their lives had been perfect, with very little issues. Until, of course, Akane – being the trouble-magnet she was – fell pregnant. Their perfect little balance was fragilized, then.

Sayuri had known, right from the moment Akane had told her she intended to keep the child, that there was nothing would convince her otherwise. Akane was simply too stubborn; and besides, there'd been nothing they could have done to stop the pregnancy, at least not without seriously endangering Akane's life.

Sayuri hadn't yelled at Akane for being so naïve. She knew that giving birth, in their line of work, would make Akane's life a living hell. She'd had her worries, but had never spoken her mind aloud.

(She should have.)

Akane gave birth to a girl on a foggy and damp day of autumn, at dawn. She'd insisted that Sayuri had to be the one naming her; and Sayuri had fought the urge to simply drop the brat and be done with it.

She was no good with children – it was part of the reason she'd sent her own daughter into her clan, she seriously lacked maternal instinct. To her, babies were just unformed little humans with no brain whatsoever.

Yet, as she'd held the infant in her arms – awkwardly and tensely, because she had no idea of what she was doing – Sayuri had found herself thinking otherwise. There was an intelligent, almost wise spark in this child's amber eyes; a glimmer anyone would have found unnatural, but Sayuri had liked it.

She'd named her Chieko. Fitting.

Chieko, as Sayuri had guessed from the start, was an abnormally intelligent child. It scared Akane away, but fascinated Sayuri. She was much like the Hatake heir; the one they called a genius. The girl was quite curious and adventurous too, much like Sayuri and her brother had been in their youth, and she never passed a chance to learn a new skill, be it musical, artistic, or necessary.

Sayuri had grown fond of her. She had after all, raised her, whereas Akane had preferred to stay away from her once very-much-desired child. She cared for Chieko like a grandmother would; and loved her like her own flesh and blood.

(She would have to ask Mayuri if she didn't mind having a niece. Her face would be priceless.)

It was Sayuri's fondness of Chieko that had led her to make a request to one of her oldest and dearest friend.

Several months ago – before everything had gone downhill – Sayuri had walked in on the most peculiar and astonishing situation she'd seen in a long time. Chieko was using chakra. Not only trying, but _succeeding_ at moulding it; something no normal child her age should have been able to pull off. Most three-year-olds couldn't even feel their chakra, for God's sake; and yet Chieko innocently sat there, reaching and toying with hers.

Chieko's chakra control was exceptional; and it had pushed Sayuri to call in a favour.

She knew that the brothel wouldn't hold Chieko very long. The girl was unbelievably smart and adventurous, she yearned to explore the world and witness it with her own eyes. There was no way she could work in something as boring as whorehouse – her mind would never rest.

(Sayuri knew of Chieko's views on prostitution. She couldn't hide such a fierce dislike for it without Sayuri noticing – she had made jōnin for a reason, after all. She didn't entirely approve and caution it in any way, but she didn't want Chieko to end up trapped either.)

Chieko would always question the wonders of the world, and Sayuri was unwilling to do anything to keep the girl from reaching her goals.

Akane's suicide, two weeks ago, had only pressed the matter. Chieko was nothing but an empty shell since she'd witness her mother kill herself. She was barely eating, and staring blankly in front of her was her only activity. She didn't talk, or move. Whereas she'd been snarky, carefree, and cheerful; the girl was now apathetic and hollow, reflecting the void which had taken over her.

Sending her away was not an option anymore; it was a necessity.

Sayuri closed her eyes and smiled as she finally reached the room where her so-called guest was waiting for her. She took a deep breath, and locked away her thoughts. The door slid open quietly.

"Ah, Sayuri." Her guest greeted her.

Very few people were allowed to call her by her birth name – mostly her old friends, from her childhood and the comrades whom she'd fought with side by side during the war. They were the only ones that knew she was a retired _kunoichi_ , out of business but alive and kicking. Those people were the only ones worthy of the privilege.

She couldn't help but to fully smile at her guest. Seeing her dearest friend – despite their own issues – after so many years was bound to make her a little emotional.

" _Sarutobi_ , long time no see."

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 **Chieko**

She was bored again.

"Chieko-chan?" Nanako called from behind the door. "Sayuri-okaa-sama asked me to get you ready. Can I come in?"

Chieko didn't answer, and simply waited for Nanako to open the door. The blonde would enter anyway, whether she agreed or not. She was aware she did not talk much these days, but she didn't feel like talking; and she knew better than to force herself to do things she did not appreciate doing.

The Woman, as Chieko now called her – since she didn't know her name (and yes, her inner Sherlock Holmes was well, thank you very much for asking) – had died weeks ago. She'd realized that, even if she'd frankly idolized the woman, Chieko cared very little about their relationship.

The only thing bothering her was the fact – even if Chieko would never acknowledge it to anyone besides herself – that the Woman's death had… Traumatized her.

She was not sane. She wasn't clinically _insane_ either, but her psyche was a wreck. It had been right from the start. Her past-self hadn't been the most balanced woman out there, if anything, Chieko would say she had been barking mad, with her depression and imminent sociopathic behaviour. Her reincarnation had only emphasized the unbalanced and messy thing that was her mind, changing her beliefs entirely.

Her past-self hadn't been someone one could scare, shock or impress easily. She'd mostly been a sarcastic and rather blasé woman; one that would laugh at anything and anyone given the right context. But Sage, as badass as she'd claimed to be, had not witnessed the horrifying, paralyzing and terrifying _reality_ of death.

(Besides her own, that is.)

All her past life, Chieko – Sage – had been told morals, values, and concepts such as _Death_ , but she had been given _nothing_ to illustrate those same ideas. And now, after seeing the woman she'd considered her mother kill herself, Chieko thought that death was rather real, and not some obscure, abstract and grotesque idea of what humans thought the 'end' was like.

Chieko wasn't afraid of death. The problem didn't lay there. She'd experienced it before, and would probably crossed path with it again in this life; and she didn't see the point in being constantly afraid of something she couldn't predict. But _actually_ witnessing death?

It was another matter entirely. And confusing.

On one hand, death, in its general aspect, didn't scare her in any way. It was only a finality, and in her case, it had been a new image of death, however, the very illustration of its reality, shook her to the core. It made her insides squirm in uneasiness, and she wanted nothing more than to run away and hide to at least try to survive. The fact that it was The Woman's face, her throat slashed open, drenched in blood, with her green eyes staring into Chieko's only emphasized Chieko's uneasiness – and, dared she say it? – trauma.

Chieko knew that her mental state wasn't an excuse for her decaying health, though. She wasn't talking? Fine, it didn't have any sort of consequence on her health – although maybe for the moral support part, but hey, she was too independent and not sociable enough for that. Not eating and barely taking care of herself?

She scowled internally at her own foolishness. It wouldn't do her good to starve herself. Of course, her current state was – sorta – justified, but Chieko was scolding herself for being weak.

(She was a fully-grown woman, thank you very much! A very prideful and annoyed woman at the moment too, so she'd _bloody_ better move _the fuck_ on and get back to _fucking_ business-)

Chieko shut a mental door and Sage's ranting diminished to a feeble whisper. She didn't know if she should worry about having a split personality – especially considering it was the incarnation of her past-self; but she'd figured that if Sakura Haruno had survived with a little voice in her head, then so could Chieko.

She didn't plan to stay in this pathetic semi-conscious state of hers for long, obviously, but she needed time to sort things out.

(And by things, she mostly meant her head.)

Chieko had learnt to compartmentalize her thoughts and emotions, a while ago. The time had come to fully use the technique, or she would go insane.

It was well-known – even in this world, particularly in this one – that traumatizing events tended to make a mess of psyches. Some of them disappeared right after the individual went into shock, others lasted lifetimes. Those slowly drove one insane if not faced and taken care of immediately. Chieko didn't plan on being stuck with a possibly harmful trauma for the rest of her life.

In the giant matrix that was her mind, Chieko carefully watched The Woman's suicide over and over again. Compartmentalization consisted in three steps: one, classify each and every piece of information one could get the hands on – things one heard, saw, or touch – by relevance, whether the intel was useful or not. It was one giant storage scroll loaded with information. Two, the individual identified the event that could possibly lead to a trauma later, and isolated it in the depths of he's mind. Three, once the traumatizing event was isolated, one needed to identify the details of it – the little things that'd caused one to go into shock, which made the memory so terrifying – and lock them away, in a trauma-proof corner of her mind.

Granted, Chieko wouldn't forget the event had happened – the details would be simply blurry. Like the way the blood had gushed out of her mother's throat, for example.

Her past-self had used this skill many times before, if only to put her hyperthymestic syndrome on sleep mode. Compartmentalization had been her best friend, as every single thing she saw was immediately carved into her mind, unforgettable.

Reincarnation had probably suppressed her rare syndrome, but Chieko wasn't sure. Her memory had always been quite above the norm, even before she'd been diagnosed as hyperthymestic. Hopefully, her attempt at compartmentalizing her memories wouldn't fail.

(And if it did, well, she would deal with it.)

She didn't want to end up twisted and mad. She'd seen what madness could do to the sanest of people, what it led to, and she didn't want to have to kill herself if she went crazy one day. She was okay with a little of Anko-eccentricity in her life, but a full bloodthirsty-Hidan rampage was not her cup of tea.

(She wanted to live, more than ever.)

"Chieko-chan, we'll wear the green kimono with the white obi today," Nanako informed her, and Chieko realized the teen had been nosing her way through her wardrobe for a while now, if the pile of clothes on either side of her were any indication. "It compliments your hair."

It was more like it clashed with it, but Chieko wouldn't object – talking was annoying these days. She nodded, and Nanako immediately rushed towards her and settle into dressing her up. She briefly wondered what kind of guest requested her presence – because Nanako wouldn't be dolling her up if Sayuri-obaa-sama casually wanted to see her.

She shrugged the thought off. Probably an expensive client or something. Or an old friend of Sayuri-obaa-sama, but that was unlikely.

Chieko promptly returned to the present as Nanako pressed her to put the deep green kimono on, and she tied the white obi around her tiny – and bony – waist. Once that was done, she picked a hairbrush, and started – well, tried – brushing Chieko's long hair.

"Good lord, Chieko-chan, how to you manage to mess up your hair so bad?" the blonde wondered aloud, sounding amazed and frustrated at the same time.

Chieko shrugged at her – she didn't have the answer to that. The Woman's black hair had always been tidy and strangely lady like; which had led Chieko to the conclusion that she'd probably inherited her wild locks of fiery red hair from her unknown father.

(Whom she suspected to be an Uzumaki, because redheads were scarce in this world, and the Uzumaki clan was notorious for its fierce redheads (which would explain why they were rare, with their annihilation and all.). In fact, her personal theory was that redheads that were _not_ Uzumakis had somehow Uzumaki genes in their blood, considering that most of the redheads in the story were from that clan (the beauty of genetics). And it would certainly explain her abnormal vitality and disturbingly high chakra reserves.)

From where she was sitting, Chieko studied her reflection in the mirror, and Nanako's fine silhouette brushing her hair – again, she was _trying_. Her looks were… special, to say the least, and if she had to compare, she would probably say she looked similar to Karui – in skin tone and hair colour, at least, even if hers was redder. She looked a little like Tsunade, maybe. Her hair was definitely as wild as Shisui's.

She had red, unruly hair, a soft, chocolate brown skin, and abnormally huge, almond-shaped amber eyes. That was it, she wasn't going to spend hours fantasizing about her looks.

She supposed she'd mostly gotten her unknown father's genes – and not having him around to compare was frustrating to say the least – given that the only thing she had with The Woman was her skin tone – only, Chieko's was a little lighter, going for a dark caramel hue rather than the full dark chocolate one.

 _We had absolutely nothing in common_. What a depressing thought. She'd at least liked The Woman a bit, even if she hadn't been the most dedicated mother; and even though Chieko cared very little for her death, their lack of any real relationship was a sad thought.

(Though, she dearly hoped she would have at least half of The Woman's amazing looks in the future, because _damn_ she'd been the most beautiful woman Chieko had ever seen.)

"Here, all done." Nanako nodded happily, _finally_ putting the brush down – Chieko's scalp was starting to burn. "Shall we go see Sayuri-okaa-sama now?"

Chieko simply nodded.

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Their walk through the brothel's corridors was silent, with only the sound of their steps echoing in the alleyways. Chieko was a little behind Nanako, who was leading their way to one of the reception rooms; dutifully following the blonde.

The teen was probably desperate to make her talk – if the twitches of her hands from time to time and her nervous glances to Chieko were any indication – or simply react to anything; but well, Chieko wasn't in a mood of interest for her surroundings.

At least, until she saw him.

The man – or woman, although judging by the general silhouette, Chieko was certain it was a man – had broad shoulders, all muscle and flesh, and was easily nine feet tall. There was an aura around him that screamed 'danger', and Chieko found herself fascinated.

He was standing guard right in front of the door Chieko was expected in.

The thing disturbing her wasn't the man's general appearance, or the fact that he was keeping watch, obviously; no, it was the mask he was wearing. A clay-mask, to be precise, with red and purple lines making out the shape of a lizard. And there was his general attire, of course – a ninja gear consisting in multiple white armour plates and black shirt and pants.

(Which led to Chieko's extreme amusement, and she snickered, because something as cute as a gecko shouldn't be this intimidating.)

The million ryō question was: _what the fuck was an ANBU doing there_?

"I'm here with Chieko-chan, just like Sayuri-okaa-sama asked," Nanako signalled to the ANBU.

He nodded, and took a step aside to let them through. Nanako kneeled in a seiza, prompting Chieko to do the same; slowly and careful not to make any sounds.

(They both knew Sayuri-obaa-sama would beat the hell out of them if they weren't discreet enough, especially if she was engaged in a conversation with her guest. Sayuri-obaa-sama was scary just like that.)

"Sayuri-okaa-sama," Nanako called in, bowing respectfully to her matron and her guest – who's face Chieko had yet to see. "I brought Chieko-chan, as requested."

"Good. You may come in."

The blonde slid the paper door as silently as possible, and motioned for Chieko to enter first. She walked up to Sayuri-obaa-sama while making sure her posture and walk were flawless – her head held down but her gaze proudly staring ahead; and took place next to her grandmother figure, bowing respectfully to their guest as she did so.

Now came the hard part: her voice, which she had not used since she'd fallen into her catatonic state. There was no one to blame but herself, Chieko knew, but it still annoyed her to no end.

"Pleased… to meet you, sir." She rasped, her voice cracking mid-sentence – all because she hadn't talk in a while. Her throat was already starting to hurt.

There was a silence, and then a deep voice answered her. "Likewise, Chieko-chan."

Sayuri-obaa-sama hummed in approval, and Chieko looked up, taking it as permission to straighten up. Her amber eyes found themselves staring at their guest's face.

She should have known; and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought about the situation further, especially with the ANBU hanging around. It had been a huge giveaway of Sayuri-obaa-sama's guest's identity. The Black Ops division was, after all, a kage's personal guard.

Sayuri-obaa-sama had invited the freaking _Hokage_. And he'd come.

Chieko couldn't help but stare at Hiruzen Sarutobi; who was casually sitting there, in his Hokage robes.

Chilling, with a smoking pipe in his hands.

She was very aware of how she appeared, at this very moment, with her eyes wide like saucers and her mouth hanging slightly; but she couldn't bring herself to care, because there was the motherfucking _Hokage_ in front of her.

(She had the right to be shocked, okay? She hadn't expected to meet a canon character this soon. Hadn't expected to ever meet one, to be honest.)

Hokage who was silently mocking her right now, if the amused smirk and mirth dancing in his dark eyes were any indication.

"Do you know why you here, Chieko-chan?" he asked lazily, as if wondering himself what he was doing there.

He eyed her critically, and Chieko stopped her awe-stricken behaviour. She was now fully aware the man was testing her; and the Sage part of her brain, who'd been quiet until then, pushed Chieko to react.

(Something that sounded suspiciously like 'Come on, jeez, stop looking like a freaking dead fish already!' was screamed in her ears. Ouch.)

Chieko met the Hokage's eye with a poised and controlled expression, her head held high, her back as straight as she could bring it to be; and her eyes shone with defiance.

Today was not the day she would be intimidated; however awe-inspiring the man in front of her could be.

"No, Hokage-sama," she answered calmly, ignoring the fact her voice cracked mid-sentence; and her tone held respect and insolence at the same time.

(She firmly ignored the darkening of her cheeks as the man's smirk widened – and that he looked like the cat that ate the canary.)

She respected his position and his persona, obviously. She knew of his status and of the importance of said status. She couldn't help being a bit rebellious, though – the wrongness of the shinobi world was still there, lingering in her mind.

The Hokage and Sayuri-obaa-sama exchanged looks, apparently fighting over something – with a sigh, her grandmother figure reluctantly conceded to explain the situation.

"I wanted you to meet Sarutobi."

Chieko tilted her head slighty in confusion. Why would Sayuri-obaa-sama bother to invite a man as busy as the Hokage was just for her to meet him? It didn't make sense.

"We need to talk," the elder woman added, and Chieko suddenly didn't want an answer to her inner turmoil and confusion.

… She had the feeling she wasn't going to like the following discussion.

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 **Bonus: Sayuri's and Hiruzen's Sarutobi reunion (unnecessary to read but kind of relevant to the plot)**

"Sarutobi, long time no see."

The man was sitting a few feet away from Sayuri, sitting into a lazy slouch rather than the appropriate and respectful _seiza_ such a meeting required, but Sayuri forgive him that, like she always did. She fully entered the room, closing the door behind her, and walked up to her old friend, who was smirking at her.

"You wanted to see me about some matter?" He asked, taking a deep puff of the pipe he was holding.

"An unusual feat, isn't it?" Sayuri smirked in return, and Sarutobi threw her an annoyed, if fond, look.

As strange as it may seem, Sayuri didn't correspond that often with him; so, he naturally wondered what kind of emergency would require his immediate attention for Sayuri to finally send him a letter. Letters simply weren't her style – she preferred bringing the matter up herself, and not via 'mischievous pieces of paper that tend to suspiciously disappear', if he was to quote his friend. Ah, paperwork. The enemy of the great.

"Quite." He answered, because if she would shilly-shally about the matter at hand, then so would he. The thought made him smile: they acted like in the old days.

Sayuri sighed and snapped, after ten minutes of silence and eye-assessment of each other. "Yes, I wanted to see you about something. Rather important, actually." She rolled her eyes at the triumphant gleam in Sarutobi's eyes, knowing perfectly well that he considered himself winner of their little game. "Why else would I bother the most important and occupied man in Fire?"

"To annoy me," Sarutobi answered truthfully. "You did it before."

Sayuri dismissed the matter with a lazy wave, smirking slightly. "That was ages ago."

"Yes, but it doesn't mean that I forgot about it. I'm old, not senile."

"I never said you were," Sayuri remarked lightly, and interrupted Sarutobi before he had the opportunity to retort. "Anyway. One of my girls killed herself earlier this year."

One of Hiruzen's eyebrows shot up at that. That was an unusual, if not worrisome, news to hear. The courtesans in Sayuri's care never left, let alone _kill themselves_ – they didn't have a reason to; Sayuri was too much of a gem for that to happen. It was a strange event, but not strange enough to the point for Sayuri to need his help. Whatever the reason was, it was fated to be interesting, and Sayuri had now his entire attention.

"And?" he prompted, after a moment of thought.

"… She did it in front of her three-year-old daughter." Sayuri admitted, and all of sudden she appeared very tired, and Hiruzen could see the grief taking its toll on her body and mind.

The reason that'd pushed one of Sayuri's girls to commit suicide was clear now: the child.

 _Three_. The number struck him, and his spine straightened unconsciously; the pipe half-way to his mouth frozen in his stilled hands.

Three. _Like Naruto_. He wondered how he would react if the boy he cared so much about faced a trauma this early in his life, and figured, watching Sayuri's exhausted and almost distressed state, that he no doubt wouldn't cope and deal with the matter as well as she did.

Sarutobi's attitude changed completely after her words sunk in, and Sayuri breathed in relief. He'd understood immediately, and she was grateful the gods had blessed her friend with a sharp mind; she hadn't the strength to tell him the extended version of Akane's death.

"I see," Sarutobi said, sympathy thick in his voice.

"I have reasons to believe her father belongs to Konoha," Sayuri announced distractedly, her poised self back in town. "She looks too much like him for me not to recognize him behind her features."

Interest sparked in Sarutobi's eyes, and Sayuri allowed herself a bit of fooling around. "But that is a matter for another time, I'm afraid. My main concern is her."

Sarutobi threw her the evil eye, knowing perfectly she was baiting him and enjoying it, but went along with the conversation subject she'd brought up. "What about her, Sayuri?"

Sayuri told him almost everything about Chieko. How abnormally bright and intelligent she was, going as far as to put her on the same level as Namikaze Minato, brain-wise; how quick she grasped the most complicated concepts without even batting an eye, and how her talents would go to waste if she was to stay with her, as much as it saddened Sayuri. She also told him about Chieko's ever decaying health, both mental and physical, since she'd witnessed her mother's psychotic relapse and suicide.

(Akane had been always been subject to psychotic events when her mental health was down; and she'd been mentally ill ever since her daughter's birth – Sayuri knew this perfectly well, and she'd tried to help the mother cope and deal with the harsh treatment she'd been subjected to – without success. Akane's fatal relapse was partly her fault.)

And finally, Sayuri told Sarutobi about her plans for Chieko's future.

"You want me to take her back to Konoha?" he asked, surprised, and flattered that Sayuri trusted him enough to take care of her granddaughter in all but blood; especially after their shared history. "and put her into the care of one of my most trusted shinobi?"

"Yes," Sayuri nodded, not phased one bit by her friend obvious disbelief. "It is the safest and most guaranteed to be successful option for Chieko at the moment."

Hiruzen agreed with her on that point. Sending the girl to a ninja village was safer and wiser than letting her trapped in a town of narrow-minded civilians. As much as he respected them, they were prideful and prejudiced dickheads. "I'll see wat I can do," he answered truthfully, because he honestly had no idea who would be the better fit to take care of the girl.

(– _Chieko_ , he had to remember her name or otherwise Sayuri would skin him alive for being an indifferent prick; and if there was one area Sayuri was skilled in, it was knives-handling.)

Sayuri smiled, perfectly aware of her friend's thoughts, and chirped clearly: "Actually, I have sorted a few suited candidates for the task."

Sarutobi cursed the damn woman for knowing him too well under his breath, "Shoot."

"Asuma." Sayuri announced first.

"A–Asuma!?" Hiruzen gasp and coughed violently due to his lungs protesting violently after his umpteenth puff of Tabaco and fresh air mixing together. "… Asuma?" he asked again after sobering up, a brow cocked up in surprise.

Sayuri shrugged. "Why not? He can't be worse than Shūhei," she remarked, before asking: "How is my daughter doing, by the way? I think she'd mad at me for not visiting before little Konohamaru's birth."

"That is very true…" Hiruzen replied, before smirking, "Mayu and Shūhei are both fine, and currently enjoying post-delivery bliss." Sayuri chuckled. "Are you sure about my second son being an option, though?" he added carefully.

"Why not? Don't you have faith in him?"

"Well, while I consider Asuma an adult, I don't think he's mature enough to put a three-year-old in his care," Hiruzen trailed carefully, and chuckled derisively, "He's still a bit of a brat himself and I don't think he would appreciate me ordering him to quit his training with the monks to raise a little girl. He is still stuck in his 'rebellious teenager' period, I'm afraid."

"Ah yes," Sayuri realized suddenly. "I'd completely forgotten about his rebellious peak."

"What about young Shikaku?" she asked next, because she held her various students in high regards, even if her memory of them dated from their - very - early days.

Sarutobi laughed and shook his head. "The boy is my jōnin commander, you know. And he's got a boy the same age as Chieko, too; and barely manages his situation with his clan head duties added to the mix."

Sayuri frowned, while Sarutobi added, "I can always put her into an orphanage, Sayuri."

Her frown turned into a vicious scowl, her eyes narrowing and her gaze hardening at the very idea. "I'm not a fool, Sarutobi. I will not send Chieko into a wrecked orphanage where your dearest friend picks up his minions."

Taking in her features rather than her speech, Hiruzen sighed. His instinct and Sayuri's demeanour let him know that they would argue about the matter the whole afternoon; and Hiruzen sighed in defeat, sensing a headache showing his ugly and undesired head.

So much for taking vacations.

* * *

 **Edited 03/04/17**

 **A/N: Here we go, chapter four unfolded and re-written. Please forgive me for not doing the Hokage/Chieko meeting like it was before (truth is, I was too lazy to do it, and Chieko has too much conflicts going on in her mind regarding the Third Hokage for me to write it acceptably.). I just passed an exam period too, so hopefully I'll have more time to work on Wisdom.**

 **Concerning the bonus likely to appear when I'm too lazy to add more scenes to a chapter, they are, mostly, experiments. I've stated before that this fic was an experiment, so I stay true to my word. This chapter's bonus was an attempt at mixing two individual's thoughts and reaction through a discussion. Is it good? The bonus is also heavy on the information regarding Sayuri: we now know she's friend with the Hokage since childhood, has a daughter Mayu(ri) who's married to Sarutobi's eldest (who I named Shūhei,** _ **because**_ **), and that she hates Danzō's guts (who doesn't?).**

 **Konohamaru's parents, as I checked, were only mentioned for their deaths during their ANBU career (I suspect a Danzō plot somewhere but sadly I'll never know) when Konohamaru was four/five-ish and had no names, so here's my own twist to their story. I love messing with canon families, really. It the essence of OC-inserts.**

 **(About Chieko's father, he's like Mayuri: an OC messing clan genealogy up.)**

 **Please review and thus let me know your opinions about the story!**

 **Kisses and Nanabooks out.**


	5. Goodbyes

**Disclaimer:** **cf. copyright below, but I do not own Naruto (otherwise, it would never have ended), only my OCs and the plot. I obviously am not making any money from this, and still broke af.**

 **A/N: I'M ALIVE. I am sorry the rewriting of this experiment is taking so long, but I simply don't have the time anymore. My previous schedule of one-chapter-every-two-weeks is on hiatus for the moment. BUT! I'm working on Chapter VI which will be out soon! Do bear with me until I'm done, thanks.**

 **Answers to reviews (thank you all!):**

 **Otrizy : I know, right? I loved bullying Hikari. Creating despicable characters is too much fun.**

 **Yuki Suou: You guessed (partly) right! You win a... pen! Congrats!**

 **Calcu22: I will mess canon up so bad. Well, not immediately, but it'll built up. My approach concerning the destruction of canon will be much more subtle, though. Beware.**

 **Chibi raven-san: Thank you for your compliments (they actually made me blush a little)! And don't worry, I'm aware of the tags concerning this story. Akane's death was the major gory event happening in this arc, anyway.**

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 **Wisdom**

A Naruto fan fiction story

 _Wisdom_ © Nanabooks

 _Naruto_ © Masashi Kishimoto

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 **CHAPTER V**

 **Goodbyes**

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Chieko… Had absolutely no idea of how she'd gotten here.

She'd gone with the flow, she guessed; but it didn't exactly explain why she was facing the expectant stare of the Hokage with multiple sheets of paper laid in front of her and a brush dipped in dark ink in hand.

Her lack of information on her situation was probably her fault, tough: after hearing Sayuri-obaa-sama telling her she wished for Chieko to leave for Konoha with the Hokage and have a proper life away from the brothel; Chieko had tuned out the conversation and deliberately stopped listening, in a ridiculous and childish peak. If they wanted her to leave, then she would be a _nightmare_ of a child, was the idea that'd crossed her mind then; but looking back at it now, Chieko was embarrassed.

Fleeing the whorehouse and explore the world she'd fallen into had always been her goal; rejecting the opportunity presented to her on a childish whim seemed stupid. Her opinion about the matter didn't count for Sayuri-obaa-sama, she'd realized, but she would have at least appreciated a warning beforehand. Sayuri-obaa-sama loved her dearly, as did Nanako, and Chieko knew that the women only cared about her wellbeing, and if it blossomed elsewhere and under another's touch, then they would accept it;

…And she fully admitted that recently, she hadn't been the most balanced kid out there.

Chieko loved the two women in return fiercely, and a part of her, despite yearning for adventure, wanted to stay with them and never leave. Sadly, such a thing wouldn't ever happen, as her will to survive was too strong.

(It was selfish, she felt like a huge bitch, but the decision was so undeniably _her_ , that she couldn't bring herself to care. She _would_ leave, even if it brought her heartache.)

Anyway, the fact that she'd stopped listening to the Hokage – who was a friend of Sayuri-obaa-sama, apparently, and Chieko had trouble grasping the very idea – and Sayuri-obaa-sama talking in favour of pouting childishly, was no doubt the reason why she had no idea what she was doing in the Hokage's guest quarters.

(Nanako had brought her here, hadn't she? Shit, she couldn't remember.)

"Well, Chieko-chan, time for your first lesson in fūinjutsu." The Hokage told her, taking a long sip of his pipe. Chieko wrinkled her nose at that; the smell reminded her of her first father – not the most pleasant man she'd known.

And then her mind processed the Hokage's words. Sorry, _what_?

"Fūinjutsu?" she asked, flabbergasted. Because seriously, _what the hell_? Why did the Hokage had decided to teach her one of the most rare and dangerous to learn shinobi skill there existed?

The Hokage nodded. "But, Hokage-sama, isn't that the most difficult skill there is to learn?" Chieko inquired, totally giving him a disbelieving and are-you-crazy look.

He smiled, and his eyes twinkled. "You may as well call me Ojii-san, Chieko-chan." That was it, he was pulling a Dumbledore on her. Damn. "And yes, it is. Though I believe you will have no issue learning it."

She seriously doubted that.

Seeing the resolute and absolute faith in the Hokage's words, however, Chieko couldn't find the strength to deny him. Not only she was a total sucker for knowledge, but fūinjutsu was a skill that'd always fascinated her. It simply clicked with her artistic mind.

That, and no one denied the Hokage, especially when he asked you to call him 'grandpa'. No one.

Chieko nodded, accepting the man's words. She didn't believe him, as she firmly thought fūinjutsu wasn't something that came easily to whoever chose to venture onto its path; but she would love to learn. "Okay, Hiruzen-ojii-sama."

Thus, Hiruzen-ojii-sama started teaching Chieko fūinjutsu. She learned, among other things, that it solely relied on the user's will. It was the user's thoughts, imagination and creativity that built the sequence and its meaning; the mind, Chieko realized, was the only pillar to fūinjutsu, which explained why there were so little fūinjutsu users and even less masters around the world.

(That, and the Uzushio massacre, obviously. No need to get morbid, though.)

Basically, fūinjutsu, to work, didn't depend on the design of the seal, but rather on the intent of the person drawing it. For example, you could use the same design for a silencing seal and an explosive tag; for the intent and task inserted into the design during its drawing changed its application entirely.

Among intent, the user's will, while drawing fūinjutsu design or creating a viable seal with it; the concentration and utmost patience of the user were required, or else the design slash seal was deemed faulty. If the user's attention wavered once, even for a second, the seal could blow up. That was the reason fūinjutsu masters were so scarce: young beginner without the proper mentoring blew up because of their carelessness. Oops.

That was when Chieko faced an issue: she was _hyperactive_. She always fidgeted like a bunny on steroids and couldn't stay it the same position for long; and her thought process, being as great as it was, hopped from one idea to another in a matter of seconds. Consequently, while Chieko largely had the imagination and creativity one's fūinjutsu skill would blossom under, she definitely lacked the patience and concentration required to create decent tags. A shame.

When the fūinjutsu paper blew up into her face for the umpteenth time, both Chieko and Hiruzen-ojii-sama decided it was enough.

Covered in black ink from head to toe, dark smudges of burnt paper grazing her fiery red locks, and her kimono now ruined, Chieko was certain of one thing.

Fūinjutsu was definitely not her predestined ninja skill. She was never, ever touching a piece of fūinjutsu-only paper again. It _sucked_.

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Firmly holding the plate with both of her tiny hands, to make sure it didn't fall over, Chieko came to a halt and stared, her mind numbly processing the facts.

She stared. And stared some more.

What was she staring at, some may ask? Well, the answer was simple enough.

Chieko was staring at Hound's ANBU clay mask.

Her day had gone about in a rather boring fashion, unfortunately for her. She'd woken up to Nanako nagging her to go shopping with her, had gone with the teenager in search of new clothes to add to her ever-growing wardrobe, met Sayuri-obaa-sama for quality time together, and finally, had been asked to bring tea to Hiruzen-ojii-sama. Not that Chieko didn't enjoy spending time with her family, but well, she'd planned to study poisonous flora that day. Thus, her mood was an in-between of annoyance and numbness.

Her plans had been lost halfway through the day, sadly; and now Chieko was facing the ANBU guarding the Hokage's quarters, to bring him tea as requested. She'd been quite self-conscious preparing it, too, and there was no doubt in her mind that she'd been spied on. By ANBU agents, no doubt.

Anyway, Chieko was staring. She was quite aware that was simply and inappropriately rude, too, but she was too shocked to properly be concerned about it; so, she stared at the guy. Or rather, she stared dumbly at the wild, gravity-defying, silver mop of hair sticking out at the top of the ANBU's head.

Her amber eyes went from the clay mask the man was wearing, with intricate lines of red paint that portrayed a wild hound, to the silver and untamed strands of silver gracing the ANBU's scalp; four times in total. Her mind was a bit slow.

Hound, meet Chieko. Chieko, meet Hound: ANBU captain, shinobi of high skill, and above all, depressive and traumatized man, also known as _Hatake Kakashi_.

Chieko seriously wondered how she remembered all these little details about places and characters of a story ended ages ago. It'd been at least four years since her rebirth, and two-ish years added to that if she counted finishing _Naruto_ ; and yet she remembered the story with intense clarity.

(Had her pathology slash peculiarity followed her through reincarnation? Highly improbable, and not an option desired in the slightest, but she had to find time to think about it properly. She hoped it didn't. She wasn't a huge fan of unbearable headaches.)

Obliviously, one might argue about the ANBU agent standing in front of her not being the actual Hatake Kakashi; but Chieko highly doubted it. The resemblance was too real for him not to be, well, him. Only two people, omitting the Toad Sage, had hair this wild and this silvery; and they were father and son. And anyway, while Jiraiya's presence in a brothel wouldn't surprise Chieko, the Red Lily was in _Tanzaku_ , which was probably too close to home in his liking. That, and Chieko knew character-Kakashi like the back of her hand: she would recognize him anywhere.

Anyway – _Hatake Kakashi_ – who'd once been her _baby_. Sage had cried and yelled about his disastrous and depressing life, cursing all heavens – mostly Kishimoto - about the completely unnecessary doom that fell on poor Kakashi's shoulders throughout his life.

And now Chieko was standing only a few inches away from him. She was torn between jumping around in glee and hugging him until death ensued, and cry desperately at his story while hugging him for comfort. Either way, she _would_ hug him.

She felt for the man, really, after everything that'd gone wrong and fucked up his life. A little too much, maybe, but who could possibly blame her? It was _Kakashi_. He deserved the tears.

Chieko was _definitely_ giving him a hug. Someday.

She decided not to act on her thoughts today, because she did not plan on getting killed – again – for acting like a foolish fangirl. She'd hug Kakashi later. She had a tea to serve, and tea did not wait.

"Can I pass through?" she asked – or well, _demanded_. She didn't even bother to coat her voice with a childish and shy undertone, because she was tired, and her inner excitement had just done the trick and exhausted the last remnants of her energy.

Hound tilted his head slightly, in a completely apathic manner, and Chieko realized suddenly that guarding the Hokage's door in an uneventful brothel in an uneventful town of civilians was boring as all hell. Which explained the save-me-from-boredom look Hound was throwing at her. Or maybe it was his normal I'm-a-cool-ANBU look. How could she know?

Everything in his stance told her he was bored out of his mind, though; from the lazy posture of his back to the tired stretching of his hands. She guessed – and wholly agreed – that having a genius' mind was a pain, especially if one couldn't use it for long periods of time. At least she had things to keep her mind occupied. Hound didn't, though – he had to be on the verge of self-destruction from boredom. Chieko made a mental note to bring him something to read later.

(After all, she seriously doubted that Hound's constant vigilance even wavered while reading a book.)

He moved, so fast that Chieko barely distinguished the movement of his arm, to grab one of the cups she'd put on the tray – she'd anticipated the tea to be checked and double checked for poisons by ANBU.

Before she could stop herself, Chieko said, and the cup was halfway from his nose – so he could sniff it, no doubt – "… I poisoned it with belladonna."

Hound's head perked up and his hand grabbed the weapon resting on his back so quickly that it almost made Chieko regret joking. Almost. He was eyeing her warily with narrowed eyes. She blinked. Woah, she ought to think twice before acting, the possible outcomes would no doubt be greatly depreciated. Oh well – she'd always been a mischievous child with a knack for pranks and misleading conversations.

There were, however, situations where jokes and sarcasm could lead to her death. Like currently, for example. Man, she _really_ should have thought about that before insinuating she'd poisoned the Hokage's tea in front of one of the most dangerous ANBU agents there was. Oops.

Chieko rolled her eyes and huffed. "Seriously, ANBU-san? I'm _four_. I've grown up in a brothel. Where the bloody fuck would I find belladonna, anyway?" she sarcastically remarked and damn – sarcasm wasn't the way to go! "It only grows in Earth." The 'duh, dummy' went unsaid, but Chieko was certain Hound got the unspoken message.

(Funnily enough, there were poisonous flowers and… things, from her old world in this one. Extraordinarily rare, yes, but they existed.)

"Chieko-chan! Language!" she heard Nanako yell from the end of the corridor and – did that girl have enhanced senses? Damn.

"Yeah, yeah," Chieko mumbled, not even bothering to speak meaningless excuses for her poor language. "The tea's not poisoned, can I enter now?" she asked Hound, exasperated. The tea was getting cold, for Kaguya's sake!

Hound nodded – after checking the tea for poison a second time, which made Chieko roll her eyes – and moved to place the cup back on the tray, but Chieko snatched the plate away before he could do anything.

"Keep it. It was for you, anyway."

Awkwardness and confusion tensing up Hound's shoulders, Chieko added. "You should drink it while it's still hot. Even though, you should hide to do it – a few of the girls expressed the desire to see your face and hum… Well, they can be pretty cunning when they want something."

Hound nodded, clearly remaining confused as to why Chieko would even bother bringing another cup of tea for him, and moved to let her pass through. She smiled.

"Have a good day, ANBU-san."

On with the tea to serve, then.

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"Pssst," Chieko called the ANBU who was trying – and failing – to escape as silently as possible the crowd of very noisy and curious and annoying – honestly, she could hear them from the end of the corridor – whores that surrounded him; and promptly tucked on his hand to make him follow her through the maze of doors and corridors that was the brothel.

How Kakashi hadn't snapped and fled the moment Hikari-bitch had accosted him, Chieko didn't know, and she certainly didn't want to, for fear of the reason being a possible – and entirely implausible, or at least she hoped it was – attraction to the mint-haired woman. _Ew_.

Instead, Chieko decided to bring Kakashi to the whorehouse's gardens. They were not big, nor of outstanding beauty for that matter, but she'd figured it would calm the fretting and skittish turmoil of Kakashi's mind – _Hound_.

Another turn to the left led them to an exterior corridor and the gardens, and Chieko let Hound's hand go.

"There you go," she said quietly. Honestly, her apathy had come back after the boring week she'd spent. "Away from the nasty courtesans."

Only silence answered her, but Chieko was quite fine with admiring the sunshine's rays attempting to pass through the fog in silence. Ah, sweet, calming, wonderful _silence_. There was the sound of shifting next to her, and Chieko turned her head to meet Hound's, who'd settled down a few inches away from her. She couldn't help but to compare both of their heights, and she realized she must look ridiculously tiny next to him.

There was a tired, almost relieved, slump in his shoulders, as if he'd finally let his guard loosen a little in order to calm himself. Chieko smiled a little. She'd been following Hound around for a while now – six days – and trying – with little success – to worm her way into the ten-feet perimeter the man seemed to shield himself with.

Two feet was the closest she'd gotten; and Chieko was damn proud of the fact.

"Did you like the book?" she asked, swaying her little legs up and down while she sat on the edge. She'd given Kakashi the one and only copy of the Tale of the Gutsy Ninja there was in the brothel's library; as she'd figured, with it being Minato's favourite, that giving it to Kakashi was a good idea.

(The fact hadn't turned against her yet, so Chieko would take it as a success.)

There was an almost imperceptible nod coming from his direction, and Chieko grinned. "You're welcome."

… She was becoming a Hound-slash-ANBU universal translator. Oh well.

They stared at the sunset for a while, before Chieko got bored and decided to play with chakra again. Sayuri-obaa-sama had forbidden her to practice on her own, but since Hound was there, it counted as adult surveillance, right?

She hopped down and made her way to the east wall of the whores' quarters, with every intention of climbing it and nailing using chakra-enhanced feet to arrive at the top. She'd done it a few times, in the privacy of her quarters – well the Woman's, but she wasn't there anymore to put any claim on them, was she? – and had almost given Sayuri-obaa-sama a heart attack the day she'd saluted the woman, upside down, hanging down from the ceiling. That had been funny.

Chieko proceeded to concentrate – as it was a difficult thing to do for her, bunny on steroids and all that jazz – and cut out any noise she could hear, focusing on the sound of her heartbeat and the soft huffing of her own breath. As usual, her chakra came to her quickly, and Chieko gently pushed it through her legs and onto the palm of her feet. She was careful to apply the same amount of chakra she had before – she somehow doubted her grandmother would appreciate another hole in the wall.

She opened her eyes, her stare dead-locked onto the flat surface facing her; and approached it cautiously – without getting her feet stuck to the ground, that would be anticlimactic. Just as slowly, Chieko lifted her right foot and placed it on the wall. It seemed stuck, so she lifted her left foot. Fortunately, she didn't fall, and her feet stayed stuck onto the wall; so Chieko decided to move forward, and actually proceed to climb up the wall.

And when Chieko was almost at the top and standing on the roof, something dramatic happened. The nuisance in itself wasn't dramatic, per se, but the _damned whore that she would rip the fucking entrails out of_ called for Hound so loudly that it made Chieko lose her focus altogether.

Before she could even register her lost attention on the task she'd been working on, the chakra flow to her feet was cut off abruptly, leaving Chieko mid-air for a short instant, and she realized she was falling.

 _Ouch. That's going to hurt_ , was all she had the time to think before she shut her eyes close tightly and braced herself for impact.

Pregnant pause.

Chieko, shrieking internally, waited from the unavoidable and searing pain that would erupt all over her body after the impact.

A few seconds, and she noticed there wasn't any pain at all. Carefully, she opened one eye; only to realize that she was now secure in a strong and athletic pair of arms, whose grip only tightened when Chieko yelped in surprise.

She tried pulling her head up, before regretting it right after; her head was buzzing and she was dizzy. Damn, that was worse than a hangover.

"…Ouch," Chieko stated dumbly, and her ears protested at the sound, " _Aow_."

Climbing walls was not a smart move, she decided, even if there was an ANBU five feet away.

Meh, her fall had allowed her to get cradled into Kakashi's arms, so she counted it as a success. Chieko only hoped she didn't have to go to those lengths to have a hug next time.

That, and she demanded that the bitch paid.

(Chieko turned her hair a flamboyant blue the next day.)

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"What's my father's name?"

The hand brushing Chieko's red hair, in a futile attempt to tame the wild locks, stilled in its movement. Silence.

"Why do you want to know?" Sayuri-obaa-sama asked in return, resuming her work on Chieko's hair.

It was a good question. Why did she want to know?

She didn't have an answer to that question, to be fair. She supposed it was part of her curious nature, but was also certain it wasn't all there was to the issue.

The feeling that she _had_ to know was just _there_ , always present and always lingering at the back of Chieko's mind, as if its importance was too great to ignore.

Chieko shrugged. "I was simply wondering." She answered, and both Sayuri-obaa-sama and her knew she was lying.

Sayuri-obaa-sama didn't say anything more for a time, stubbornly trying to make Chieko's hair obey to the mighty powers of the hairbrush – in vain.

"He's a foolish man, your father," she said suddenly, and Chieko's mouth opened in surprise at the confession.

She hadn't expected an actual answer. Some cryptic codes, maybe, but not this kind of answer. She hadn't thought Sayuri-obaa-sama would tell her about her complete stranger of a father.

"He left everything on a whim and went rogue very young," Sayuri-obaa-sama added, and Chieko could actually see a little of herself in the portrait of her father.

She, too, tended to make decisions on a whim… It wasn't necessarily a good trait to possess. If anything, it'd brought her more problems than solutions.

To be honest, she'd expected her father to be a missing-nin – he obviously was a shinobi, since civilians were not reported if they went rogue, simply killed by the authorities – because why would it ever be simple?

(Honestly, she was a reincarnated being in what she'd thought to be a fictional world, her mother had been a courtesan whose madness had forced to kill herself; obviously, her father had had to be special in some way.)

"And he was a very rebellious child, growing up…" Chieko watched as Sayuri-obaa-sama's focus seemed to drift elsewhere while she told her tale, "but intelligent. So very intelligent. You inherited that from him," she sighed, "and deadly."

"Deadly?" Chieko prompted to obtain more answers. Hopefully her grandmother wouldn't see through her tactic.

Her question had been a simple enough one to answer, yet Sayuri-obaa-sama hadn't revealed what Chieko's father's name was. She'd only told facts that brought more questions than answers, and it greatly annoyed Chieko.

Sayuri-obaa-sama's stern grey gaze warned her she'd seen through her, and Chieko immediately stopped prompting. Ah, damn.

"You can't tell me his name?" she asked in the way a child who hadn't gotten any sweets would.

Sayuri-obaa-sama sighed. "No. You'll know in due time, Chieko."

That was a bore.

"All you need to know is that he is not aware of your existence, and that's a good thing. He's too unpredictable."

Great – her unknown father was either a psycho or a coward.

 _Special_ indeed.

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"Be nice to your family and word hard to help them, okay?" Nanako told her, her hands on both of her tiny shoulders, holding her close.

Today was the day. She was leaving.

Hiruzen-ojii-sama was discussing important matters with Sayuri-obaa-sama a few feet away from them, if their serious faces and closed expressions were anything to go by. Was it about her? Chieko wondered. Maybe it was relevant to her father's identity.

Not that she wanted anything to do with the man, despite her recently acquired knowledge of him. She was still curious about whoever he may be, though.

Bah, apparently, someone would tell her at some point. She just had to wait until then.

There was another squeeze to her shoulders, and Chieko turned her attention back on Nanako.

"Let others talk but kick their asses if needed," she told her, glaring at Hikari-bitch who spying on them from the porch, sneer on her face. Nanako paused, "and please don't curse too often."

Chieko nodded in acceptance and smiled.

"Okay, Nana-onee-sama," Evidently, she would kick asses if someone annoyed her. Her money wasn't on her ability to not curse, though. "I promise."

She was going to miss Nanako and her happy-go-lucky behaviour. She'd grown attached to the now nineteen-year-old. She was simply too intense and kind to dislike.

And she was family.

Nanako looked like she was about to cry, and Chieko knew she was probably going to miss her too. The blonde took her into a bone-crushing hug, holding Chieko's small frame in a firm dead-lock.

While Chieko was not a touchy-feely kind of person – not since the Woman, anyway – she didn't run from Nanako's embrace. Not that she could, but the warmth of Nanako's hug was making her eyes water, and no one could see that. Instead, she buried her face into the crook of the blonde's neck.

"I love you, _Imōto_ ," Nanako suddenly whispered, and her arms tightened around Chieko.

Chieko froze in shock in Nanako's embrace, eyes wide, but strangely euphoric.

Happiness bubbled inside her chest, her heart swelling in joy.

It had been a long time since she'd heard those special three words, and much longer since they'd been directed at her.

(Sage hadn't had a very happy home life. Her father was a violent drunk, and often got angry by her mere presence. Life had taken away everyone she'd held close to her heart – her mother, grandmother, and Mason. Chieko had seen her mother slash her own throat while telling her it was her fault. Both hadn't been very lucky, concerning love in general.)

Chieko had missed being loved and accepted. She had proof she was not a hindrance everyone seemed to think she was; because Nanako – and Sayuri-obaa-sama both loved her like family.

Chieko fiercely hugged Nanako back – and _no_ , obviously, she _wasn't_ crying. After a long pause, the blonde finally released her, and Chieko saw Sayuri-obaa-sama approach with Hiruzen-ojii-sama in tow. They'd finished talking.

(Chieko still hadn't gotten over the fact that they'd been comrades in their youth.)

The stern woman observed her critically, like a hawk would, taking in her badly hidden tears and nest of hair, before a soft smile came gracing her lips.

"Chieko, behave," she said, patting her head, "I'll be watching."

Chieko would fully admit that she burst into tears.

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The trip from Tanzaku to Konohagakure, without surprise, had been boring and hot. Chieko didn't mind a bit of warmth from time to time, but the agonizing heat of the Land of Fire was simply ridiculous. And it was March, for Kaguya's sake!

Chieko felt ready to finally confront Konoha's gates. He hoped it would be today, because she would cry otherwise.

The cynical part of her mind, the one that wasn't completely convinced of her current situation despite the numerous proofs she'd witnessed; was making Chieko's head a mess. She was drowning in a sea of what ifs.

The gates of Konohagakure made an obvious enough proof, and Chieko hoped it would suffice for finally being able to move on.

Her ANBU slash taxi of the day wasn't Hound, sadly, but a nice enough lady going by the code name of Cat, with awesome blue hair. She came to a halt and Chieko opened her eyes to see they were now on a quite large road made of what she supposed was clay. Cat put her down but kept her close, and, as the whole cortege had stopped hopping around the ninja way, Chieko guessed they were to finish the trip by walk.

That was why she slithered out of Cat's grasp and headed for Hiruzen-ojii-sama, who was walking ahead of them.

The Hokage greeted her with a smile, and offered his right hand; which Chieko took with a happy smile.

Being adorable had its benefits.

After ten minutes, Chieko started to recognize the trees they were coming across – Hashirama trees. She took it as a sign they were reaching the village's gates – it was named the Village Hidden in the Leaves for a reason, after all, the reason being all-mighty Hashirama and his kekkei genkai.

Chieko turned to look ahead or else her clumsiness would take the better of her.

And suddenly, Konohagakure's enormous gates appeared.

She took in the view in front of her with wide eyes – this was proof she'd really died and that no, she hadn't gone bonkers.

Chieko had been reincarnated into _Naruto_. After four years, she was finally accepting it.

A breeze came to greet her fascinated face, messing her already wild hair, and she smiled.

This was her new home.

* * *

 **Edited 04/20/17 (I'm not late, I dunnowhatchatalkinabout)**

 **A/N: The real fun now begins. I'm sorry for not updating sooner – high school is getting hard and writing becoming a hobby. And this chapter has caused me a lot of issues and hair-pulling. I wanted to include more Hound/Chieko interaction, too, but I got fed up so I guess you'll have to wait for that.**

 **The next chapters (namely, Chieko's childhood) will probably be longer than that, since there's too much stuff to play with and too much things to mess up. Mostly, wait for minor changes until Shippuden, because I have plans for little ol' Chieko.**

 **Review your opinions, always great to have different impressions on what I'm writing.**

 **Kisses,**

 **Nanabooks.**


	6. What

**Disclaimer:** **cf. copyright below, but I do not own Naruto. What I do own is my cat, my brain, and the multiple OCs likely to show up. I don't make any money from this fiction, otherwise I would be writing a lot more than I already do.**

 **A/N: I'M ALIVE BABY! And so freaking glad to publish Chapter VI.**

 **Answers to reviews:**

 **Pineapple-Lady-sama:** **And… And you're absolutely right. I actually hadn't realized that myself until you told me – and… I'm ashamed at not noticing cuz' Kakashi's my favourite of all times. Ugh.**

 **Wadaboo:** **If there's one thing clear about Chieko, it's that while she doesn't dwell on her lost life, she remembers it perfectly and will use this knowledge to get through shit. A SI that forgets or doesn't act on its knowledge is useless if you ask me. The whole point to a self-insert is to muck up canon. Love your username, btw.**

 **Guest:** **She'll be happy from now on, I swear. She's suffered enough. And Danzō's a pain in the ass and I fucking despise ROOT, so don't worry, itty witty cane-waving man won't be spreading bullshit around. At least not yet.**

 **Guest:** **I'm glad you like the Nayuko bond. I like it too.**

 **Calcu22:** **This story is a slow burn. Mostly because I'm a sadistic author.**

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 **Wisdom**

A Naruto fan fiction story

 _Wisdom_ © Nanabooks

 _Naruto_ © Masashi Kishimoto

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 **CHAPTER VI**

 **What**

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After Chieko's arrival at Konohagakure, the days blended together, and before she'd even realized it, a full week had already passed by. All she could recall about it was a blurry and exhausting line of events.

The Hokage – bless this man – had been so kind as to let Chieko stay at one of the many Hokage Residences, while he returned to work and to hopefully find a suitable family willing to take her in or, preferably, adopt her. She'd told him that ending up in an orphanage would be just fine, but the man wouldn't have any of it. Something related to Sayuri-obaa-sama eating his heart out if he didn't fulfill his duty to her completely.

And so, Hiruzen-ojii-sama had gone back to his Hokage duties – and probably back to dealing with the massive pile of paper work that Chieko had no doubt was awaiting him, but she was all too clever to mention any of her speculations to him. She'd learnt not to remind Hiruzen-ojii-sama of his paper duties if she ever wanted to live.

(She wouldn't talk about it more, but would only tell that it had occurred in a situation involving a baby Konohamaru and lots of kunai flying everywhere.)

Konoha was... strange. Not in an unpleasant way, in fact Chieko rather liked the city; more in a hell-this-was-supposed-to-be-fiction way. The feeling was _weird_.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves was just as the story painted it: a big fortified circle of buildings. While it was similar to Tanzaku concerning its lively crowds, Konoha had a more peaceful aura to it. It was always busy and crawling with life and sounds, although not nearly as much as Tanzaku Gai, or any of her previous world's big cities. The evenings in the village were drastically different too, silent and relaxing, whereas the Red-lights District Chieko had grown up in had always been buzzing with activity until the dead of night.

Chieko had already seen most of Konohagakure, as Hiruzen-ojii-sama had asked Hound to show her around a bit – which had been awkward, because Kakashi was definitely not a people person and she wasn't either. Konohagakure was… Youthful, for lack of a better word. There were shops and restaurants at every corner, merchants selling goods on the market place and sometimes in the streets, and shinobi and kunoichi hopping on and off buildings. Youthful: colourful and lively, but not too much. A shame they hadn't met Gai.

She was grateful Hiruzen-ojii-sama hadn't forgotten about her and sent people to take care of her, because while she was independent, Chieko was only four in body, and she was aware of what happened to most four-year-olds prodigies with no family: they got picked up by a creepy old man with a cane.

(Chieko did not want to end up in Danzō's nasty claws. While she hardly doubted her capacity to resist the incessant brainwashing, she feared to become a heartless tool with desperate need of survival.)

Idly, Chieko thanked her undeniable luck. She was incredibly grateful to whatever entity there was out there to have been reborn in the Land of Fire. She dreaded to think about what would've happened to her, had she been reincarnated in Water.

Not only the country was wet and freezing, but the ninjas over there were barking mad and currently controlled by a nasty lollipop idiot.

(Or at least she thought they were, since precise timelines were not Kishimoto's main prowess.)

She shivered. Ugh, _water_.

Thanks heavens, Chieko was not that doomed. Not yet, anyway.

Concerning her future here, in Konoha, Chieko had no idea where she would end up. The Hokage, busy man that he was, had told her he would find a solution as quickly as possible, but Chieko was in no hurry. Quite the contrary, actually.

While she hoped to end up in a ninja family because she wouldn't have the patience to deal with civilian standards, she wasn't foolish enough to believe a clan would be willing to take her in.

(The Uchihas were ostracised, the Hyūgas too uptight, the Sarutobis (which was the closest clan to her family, with Mayuri (Sayuri-obaa-sama's daughter) being Konohamaru's mother) too famous for their own good. The Yamanakas or the Naras were fine, but Chieko would be discovered in two fucking seconds.)

A canon family would be both a blessed chance to execute her plans and a nightmare. Chieko had planned her course of action carefully, and a single toe out of line could engender catastrophes – Naruto not becoming Hokage, for example.

An orphanage would give her independence, but the risk to end up in some nasty place with nasty people was too high. And a family sounded like a nice thing to have.

(Sage hadn't had a family. Not for a long time, at least. Cancer had destroyed her mother, her grans had died during her childhood, and her father had been a complete douche with anger issues. Chieko had been witness to her mother's downfall and suicide. Her lives were fucked up.)

"Chieko-chan?" a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Hokage-sama asked to see you."

Chieko turned her head to greet the woman – Suzuna-san – who'd been assigned to take care of her since her arrival in Konoha – and waved, hopping off the bed. Suzuna-san smiled at her and motioned for Chieko to follow her.

"I brought you some dangos," she said, and Chieko beamed. Dango was her favourite. "Thanks!" she chirped happily, popping a stick into her mouth as soon as the plate was in her hands.

She savoured the sweet flavour erupting on her tongue before following Suzuna-san out of the room. Dango was simply the best. The woman deserved a price – and she was now on Chieko's good-people list.

After finishing what had turned to be her breakfast, Chieko turned to Suzuna-san.

"Where're we going?" she asks to fill the conversation, because obviously, they were going straight to the Hokage's Office. She was toying with the last dango stick, now void of any yumminess.

"To Hokage-sama's office," Suzuna-san answered gently, and Chieko ticked at the smothering tone in her voice. She added, "I think Hokage-sama has found a family for you."

Chieko nodded, looking doubtful. Hiruzen-ojii-sama couldn't have possibly found someone in such a short amount of time. Not many people would be willing to take in an unknown child, let alone one that'd grown up in a brothel.

She let out a squeak when a huge shadow suddenly appeared, dropping down from the ceiling, only to realize it was her favourite ANBU of all time.

"Hello, Hound-san!" Chieko beamed happily and promptly proceeded to hug him, snaking her tiny arms around him.

It must have looked ridiculous, since she was hugging where she could reach; which resulted in an awkward hug around his left leg, because Kakashi was too tall for comfort and Chieko annoyingly small.

Hound awkwardly patted her head, tensing up at Suzuna-san's muffled laughter.

Chieko fully grinned this time, because… Cringing Kakashi was damn cute.

Innocently, she looked up at him, waving her arms in a silent demand. With a sigh, he complied, lifting her up and installing her in his arms.

Being an adorable toddler was awesome.

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Chieko sighed. Hound and Suzuna-san had left her on the bench in front of the door leading to the Hokage's Office twenty minutes ago, and she'd been inspecting the cracks in the ceiling since.

One thousand and seventy-five cracks. A _bore_.

"You can come in now," the secretary finally announced after five more minutes of waiting and wiggling on her seat. Chieko suspected her to be an ANBU undercover.

Chieko hopped down the bench and lightly dusted her clothes before entering the room, the door closing after her.

It was only when she made a move forward that Chieko realized she couldn't see the Hokage. She saw perfectly the huge piles of papers that were likely trying to swallow him whole, but she couldn't see him. Something – some _one_ – was blocking her view.

The man was… Very tall. She felt ridiculously minuscule standing a few feet away from him. He was wearing what looked like, from behind, a lazily tied yukata, and his shoulders were somewhat slouched. And… That pineapple shape was unmistakable.

(It was voluminous and spiky. Like Madara's hair on bad days (read ninety-nine percent of the time))

Anxiety taking the best of her, Chieko rasped, "You wanted to see me, Hiruzen-ojii-sama?"

Both men turned around and she found herself staring at the very intimidating scarred face of Shikaku Nara. She swallowed audibly.

"Ah, Chieko-chan." Hiruzen-ojji-sama smiled. "I would like you to meet Nara Shikaku-kun, my jōnin commander. He's accepted to take you in."

Her brain taking time to process the words, Chieko's eyes went back and forth from Hiruzen-ojii-sama's smiling face to Shikaku's inexpressive one.

Finally, she gaped, earning an amused smile from the Hokage.

He had _what_?

Uh oh. She hadn't been expecting that to happen.

Chieko stared, her mouth thankfully closed, disbelief obvious on her face. Hiruzen-ojii-sama chuckled at her priceless expression, and she definitely saw Shikaku smirk. Feeling her cheeks heat up, Chieko stopped staring, suddenly finding the window extremely interesting.

"You're not serious, are you?" she mumbled, her eyes still drifting elsewhere instead of focusing on the two men.

"I'm afraid I am, Chieko-chan. I would never joke on such matters."

"But… Why?" she blurted out, this time looking at him straight in the eye.

She resisted the urge to point an accusing finger at him. She was shocked, but there was no reason to be rude, especially to the Hokage. And she flushed a bit because she _really_ ought to stop blurting out her thoughts on a daily basis, it was highly embarrassing.

Not that the idea of living with the Nara clan disagreed with her. While she would probably be figured out in approximately twenty seconds, it was one of the nicest and quietest clans of Konohagakure, and as such, the Naras were respected for their diplomacy.

Chieko, in all her reflective genius and poised attitude, corresponded perfectly to a Nara's mind.

The problem was: she wasn't supposed to be part of that clan. As far as the story went, Shikamaru hadn't grown up with another girl by his side. The realization led to an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. Shikaku Nara was an unknown variable, too. Unpredictable.

Chieko had planned far too much for someone to mess matters up.

She'd admitted to herself that despite the odds – namely, her death and rebirth – she cared for the shinobi world far more than she should.

In all fairness, it wasn't that surprising since she'd grown up reading Naruto's story and adventures, but it had shocked her the first months.

And Naruto didn't deserve what was coming his way. Neither did his friends and allies. Fortunately, Chieko had the knowledge to change that, and she planned to get the power to do so. She'd decided to muck canon up – lightly at first, with full force later on – given that she survived until then – by various means to ensure Naruto would one day become Hokage, albeit his path would be a lot smoother.

She wasn't foolish enough to promise to save as many lives as she could, because it would be a lie. She would try, yes, but time wasn't a straight line of events, and thus there were unknown variables that could potentially ruin her plans. There wasn't anything that assured her this world was faithful to the story's plot, too.

She had no guaranty, but she would try to save those she could.

(Sage hadn't been the most virtuous of humans, either. Maybe she could find her redemption.)

Anyway, being part of one of Konohagakure's major clans would be a tremendous help, the kind she needed to execute her plans without suspicion and reach her goal.

An awkward and almost tense silence had taken place in the room, with Chieko waiting for either man to answer her legitimate question; her mind racing as it reflected upon the advantages and drawbacks of her adoption into the Nara clan.

She expected Hiruzen-ojii-sama to answer, instead, it was Shikaku who said, a throaty chuckle raising in his chest, "Well, you need someone to take care of you."

Chieko raised her head, and much to her surprise, the man was eyeing her with interest, a smirk on his lips.

"Besides," he added with a small sigh, "Yoshino's always wanted a girl to dote on."

Ah… – she had absolutely nothing to answer to that.

She saw Shikaku Nara under a new light, now. She decided she rather liked the man. Even if he threw her off.

She could feel the child within her bubble with happiness, too. Chieko was grateful of that.

After getting out of Hiruzen-ojii-sama's office, with what Chieko hoped had been poised elegance and what she knew had been badly tears of joys and half-yelled thank yous; she was on her way to her new home with her guardian.

( _Dad_? Could she consider him her Dad? The Hokage had told her that while she wouldn't be considered Shikaku's blood, she would be his pupil, and as such he could be considered as a surrogate father, but Chieko had trouble accepting it.)

Shikaku was leading them out on Konoha's main road, the very same Chieko had walked on her the day she'd arrived in the village, when he suddenly turned and proposed his hand to her.

Ignoring her jerk backwards at the sudden motion and his now narrowed eyes, Chieko wondered what he was on about, staring at him.

He nudged her gently. "You're supposed to take it, Chieko-chan." He explained with a sigh, and Chieko got confused even more.

"What for?" she asked, clearly lost.

Another sigh, but Shikaku was not annoyed. "So you don't get lost, the village is big and crawling with people at this hour," he said patiently.

Tell me about it, Chieko frowned. And why exactly was the hand invol– Oh. Right.

She scratched her cheek, embarrassment making her face grow hot as she finally caught on the idea. And she _supposedly_ was a genius.

No one could blame her for questioning the purpose of the hand presented in front of her, though, given her circumstances. Back at the brothel, most of the hands extended in her direction ended up in her face. Or stomach. Or back. Anywhere, really.

Chieko had the right to be suspicious.

The man in front of her was no threat to her wellbeing, though. He was her guardian – a new addition to her small family, and he had no reason to strike her. And even if he did, she felt like he would go for a much subtler approach.

Aware take she looked like a scared puppy or skittish cat, Chieko nodded and took his large hand in her minuscule one.

She raised her head up and met Shikaku's eyes, and she saw an actual smile cross his features. Chieko smiled shyly in return.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

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Unsurprisingly, the Nara clan's compound was at the very edge of the village – Chieko had expected it to be, since she remembered the Naras were quite known for their medicine and forest full of deer. The compound was huge and the forest went from the outskirts of the East wall and covered at least a mile radius after the wall. Big.

They'd walked by the Akimichi clan compound, too, which was only two streets away – and also situated on the outskirts of Konoha.

The first thing Chieko had liked about this place – her new home – was the peaceful aura that surrounded it. It was the kind of atmosphere she wholly appreciated, because it allowed her to think without getting side-tracked by sounds and people. It was probably why the Naras lived here, too.

Shikaku had given her a tour of the compound first, saying it would be best to show her around first – but with the way he kept discreetly fidgeting and putting his hand in his hair every five seconds, Chieko guessed he'd done something possibly bad and didn't want to face Yoshino.

(There was little she knew about the Naras, Shikamaru's family especially, but Nara Yoshino's temper was too famous to ignore.)

They finally stopped in front of what looked like a probably large and spacious house, at the very edge of the forest.

"Here we are," Shikaku declared with a smirk but tense shoulders, "This is our home, Chieko-chan."

The 'our' in his sentence made Chieko's heart speed up with joy and dread fall in her stomach, but she returned his smile anyway.

(What if they didn't want her? What if she was intruding? Oh fuck, what if Shikamaru and Yoshino didn't like her? What if–)

Shikaku approached the front door cautiously, and Chieko totally saw him stop breathing when he opened it. She was cackling internally at how terrified of his wife the man obviously was.

He opened the door with a sigh of relief, popped an eye inside – and immediately closed it. He even took a few steps back.

Chieko's eyebrows shot up at this. Yoshino _surely_ couldn't be that scary, could she?

As if to answer Chieko's inner thoughts, a loud crash echoed behind the door, followed by at least a dozen _pock pock pock_ sounds of metal meeting wood.

Oh god, Yoshino _could_ be that terrifying!

"YOU!" the roar from inside the house made Chieko – and Shikaku, who was starting to sweat, respectively freeze and flinch at the angry shout.

Damn, the woman was furious.

The door shot open, and Chieko saw the multiple kunai embedded into the wooden door. That, combined with the heavy Killing Intent floating in the air, made Nara Yoshino, a frying pan in her hands, arms crossed, furrowed eyebrows and full-on scowl on her face, a truly terrifying sight.

(She needed to learn everything about Killing Intent, though. That thing was wicked cool.)

"Yo, Y-Yoshino-chan," Shikaku greeted and Chieko supposed he was trying to not appear terrified, and failing at it. "Tadaīma."

(He looked ready to run for his life, for heaven's sake!)

" _You_ ," Yoshina hissed, "You better start _explaining_. Right. Now."

"Mah, you see–" Shikaku started, but his wife interrupted, scowling.

"I don't see you in _weeks_!" she yelled, and _wait a fucking minute_ , Shikaku had been on a mission and hadn't greeted his wife before taking Chieko home? "And when I finally hear a word from you, it's a stupid note telling you vouched for guardianship! A _note_!" she shrieked, clearly offended.

To be honest, Chieko was offended too. The situation was hilarious, but a little revolting. If Yoshino hadn't seen her husband in weeks, it was very unthoughtful of him to not at least make himself known to be alive before going off to the Hokage.

She also felt like an intruder on the scene. They obviously had to talk, and Chieko was simply standing there, a small yet unforgettable intruder.

"I know, Yoshino-chan," Shikaku finally said, and he seemed sheepish. Ah! She hoped he was. "And I'll make it up to you."

As simply as that, Yoshino's anger vanished along with her heavy Killing Intent, and Chieko found herself breathing a lot more easily. The woman threw herself at her husband and they hugged fiercely.

Definitely felt like intruding.

"Kaa-san, what's going on?" a lazy voice interrupted the frankly touching moment the couple was having, and Chieko lifted her eyes to face a four-year-old Shikamaru, looking like he'd just gotten up.

… He was fucking _adorable_.

"Ah, Tō-san," he said uselessly when he saw his father standing there. "Welcome back."

"And who're you?" Adorable Shikamaru asked with narrowed. He was trying to appear intimidating, but Chieko only found him cute as all hell.

Shikaku chuckled at the suspicious aura coming off his son, before putting a hand on Chieko's shoulder. She looked up at him in question, and Yoshino smiled at her. She returned the smile awkwardly, not sure what the woman thought of her yet.

"Shika-chan," she said, smiling at her son, "this is Chieko-chan."

"She'll be staying with us from now on, so be nice, okay?" Shikaku added, and Chieko wanted to disappear under a rock at the look Shikamaru gave her.

There was a silence, with Shikamaru literally ditching whatever they were having for a deep-thinking séance.

Her worry towards Shikamaru's enigmatic reaction must have shown on her face, because Yoshino kneeled in front of her, and said, "Don't worry, Chieko-chan. Shika-chan is just thinking."

 _No shit_ , she deadpanned.

"Apparently, I'm your new mother, so," Yoshino said with a tentative smile, "You can call me… Kaa-chan, hum – if you want to?" she finished awkwardly.

The heat in her chest came back with full force, and Chieko tilted her head down, suddenly very shy. Which was a new experience, because Sage had been a rather bold being.

"Hum… Okay," she agreed, her voice barely audible. She fidgeted under Yoshino's critical stare.

"I like you," the woman declared. "… But you're too skinny for my tastes."

Ah… Well. Chieko shrugged mentally. It wasn't surprising, she was a walking skeleton at this point. Skinny was a euphemism to describe the state of malnourishment she was in.

"Does that mean I can call Shikaku-san Tō-san?" she asked, changing the topic completely.

It was Shikaku who answered her. "If you want to, yes."

Chieko looked at him straight in the eye, and tilted her head slightly, her red locks jiggling at the movement.

She'd never had a father figure before. Her unknown father was nowhere near knowing she existed, and as a result her subconscious was closed to the idea of an existing father. It was odd.

The problem was that she'd never had any sort of father figure to go by. Living in a brothel, Chieko had only had her mother, Sayuri-obaa-sama and Nanako, and hadn't had any interaction with men.

(Except the psycho that'd attacked her one night, but that was entirely different.)

Having a mother had allowed her to stop considering the woman as such when she'd killed herself in front of Chieko, and therefore Chieko could start considering Yoshino as a surrogate mother; but the presence of a father in her life, with her previous lack of, made her subconscious have a hard time believing it.

She couldn't name something that hadn't been there since her birth and suddenly was.

"Maybe one day," Chieko said after a pause, looking at Shikaku straight in the eye, all shyness she'd possibly had blown away, "I don't know you yet."

He chuckled, "You can call Yoshino-chan 'Kaa-chan' when you barely know her, but you can't call me 'Tō-san'?" She flinched.

"The previous one didn't do a great job," she said quietly, thinking of The Woman.

"Stop upsetting her, you insensitive man!" Yoshino told her husband with a swat on his chest. "Go nap or something."

"I'm not upset," Chieko told Yoshino truthfully. "I didn't like her, she didn't like me. I like you, though."

Yoshino beamed at that, even if she seemed uncomfortable with Chieko's opinion of her biological mother.

The hug that followed hadn't been expected though, and Chieko was certain both adults had seen her tense up before she forced herself to relax in her – _mother_ 's? This was getting confusing – embrace.

There suddenly was a nudge on her left sleeve. She threw Shikamaru a busy-but-not-ignoring-you-because-I'm-nice-like-that look over Yoshino's shoulders.

"Do you know out to play shogi?" he demanded, a serious look on his adorable face.

Carefully, she nodded.

"Okay, then." Shikamaru said, accepting her answer.

As the four-year-old then proceeded to drag her to play shogi with him, the adults watching them with amused expression, Chieko could only accept her fate and smile.

She'd been accepted.

Her family was ever-growing and she loved it.

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 _ **Shikaku**_

"Chieko-chan, this is Rikumaru," he told his pupil, pointing lazily at the deer which was staring curiously at her. "He likes apples." He added, motioning to the fruit sitting in her hands with a lazy wave.

The four-year-old stared at the animal in front of them for a moment, before taking a confident step forward, and holding out the apple to Rikumaru. The deer waked to her cautiously, sniffed her hand, and promptly swallowed the entire fruit, earning a surprised gasp from Chieko and an amused smirk from Shikaku.

"Won't he get sick?" she asks, an eyebrow shooting up as she watched the deer happily eat another apple Shikaku had given him.

"No chance," Shikaku replied with a smirk, "He's a glutton."

Chieko looked at him as if he'd gone off a cliff – not that he couldn't, with his shinobi training and all – and Shikaku chuckled at the confused expression she wore.

Finally, she nodded. "Okay." Shikaku was painfully aware he threw her off at times, and partly felt bad for it, but teasing Shikamaru and now Chieko was simply too fun to pass.

They fell into a comfortable silence, Shikaku petting Rikumaru's head from time to time, and Chieko staring at nothing, appearing deep in thought. He'd seen that look on Shikamaru's face before.

Finally, she spoke up, "I wanted to ask you something." She told him, straightening from her sitting position.

On any other four-year-old, it would have comic to see, but with Chieko, it only showed how grown up she was – when really, she shouldn't be.

"Hm?"

"Why did you say yes?" she asked, and Shikaku stopped petting Rikumaru altogether, and turned to look at her.

Chieko was staring at him, her amber eyes bold and questioning, very far away from the shy and introverted little girl Shikaku had met a month ago. Part of him thanked Yoshino's influence for it, the other, the more cynical part, was aware it wasn't Yoshino's doing.

He'd seen the subtle changes. He'd watched as the presumably traumatized and very shy redhead morphed into a highly intelligent, snarky toddler, completely indifferent to what had happened to her – which to be honest was a first. Inoichi would love her.

She'd become another person entirely. While his comrades would find it dangerous, Shikaku had complete faith in Sayuri-sensei to be suspicious of her kin. To Shikaku, it only made Chieko all the more interesting.

It was as if she showed her true face only at those she deemed worthy of her trust, without being obvious about it. And Shikaku liked subtlety.

He also was far from stupid. He knew perfectly well that there was more to her than the façade she was showing. That made her very cunning.

Chieko acting like an adult freakishly reminded Shikaku of young Kakashi at times, and given that the teen spied on her every now and then, he too must have realized how similar, character and circumstances wise, they were.

Although, Chieko's presence in Konoha made a lot more sense. She was a genius in her own right, and thus had no place in a luxurious brothel in a shady town. Her treatment at Sayuri-sensei's brothel was the reason Shikaku – and by extension, Yoshino – had decided to take her in.

Yoshino was a doting mother, and they'd both seen that little Chieko craved the attention. That alone sufficed to make them angry towards whoever had mistreated and starved her.

(Especially the girl's mother. "Spineless coward," Yoshino had said. Shikaku wholly agreed with his wife.)

Anyway, he rather liked little Chieko. It was why he'd brought her to feed the deer for some bonding time – to his credit, it was Yoshino's idea, and he wasn't crazy enough to say no to his scary wife.

(Shikamaru, his genius toddler son, liked Chieko too. He barely let her out of his sight after she beat at shogi – Yoshino found it cute, Shikaku found it hilarious. The both of them understood the other, too, so he guessed it was the reason why they had such an easy-going friendship.)

To be honest, it was an excuse to observe her. Her question had caught him off guard, though.

"You're interesting," he replied, and left it at that.

Chieko nodded once more, no doubt pondering his words, and silence echoed in the clearing once more.

They spent the afternoon bathing in the sun, Shikaku allowing himself a power nap on Rikumaru's fur with Chieko next to him reading a book.

They went home at sunset, Yoshino and Shikamaru waiting for them.

Chieko stopped, and Shikaku looked down at her, a silent question in his raised eyebrow.

"Thanks for today," she said, resolutely not looking at him, "...Tō-san."

He was grinning like a fool for the rest of the evening.

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 **A/N: And here we go! That chapter has been waiting to be written for so long (December, in fact), I am so glad to finally publish it!**

 **Chieko has been adopted-but-sorta-not by the Nara clan. If you don't get it, I'll explain throughout this story. The key sentence for the Chieko/Yoshino/Shikaku relationship is Mum-Dad-daughter-unofficially, while the one for Shikamaru/Chieko is brother-sister-bond-but-damn-no, think of this what you must, I understand myself and that's cool.**

 **Next time, maybe Naruto, maybe Lee, maybe Sasuke, maybe Academy… I don't have it planned out yet. But good news, I've got Wave Arc covered (in mind, at least)! Now I just have to fill the in-between.**

 **Reviews are always much appreciated, speak your mind!**

 **Kisses,**

 **Nanabooks out.**


	7. Of evolution

**Disclaimer: I only own the various OCs likely to turn up at one point or another, and the alterations to the plot; and certainly do not make any profit from this story. Naruto is Kishimoto's.**

 **A/N: I'm back and sick. Nice. See you at the bottom if you're wondering what the hell has been going on.**

 **Answer to reviews:**

 **Kreceir: Thanks for telling me you found it cute, because I was terrified that it would turn out lame... Thanks! And no, Shikaku and Yoshino are not aware of the gory detail concerning Chieko's mother. Maybe they will someday, though.  
**

 **CasJeanne: Thank you! I hope this chapter satisfies you concerning the prejudice part, as for Chieko's health, it'll be further developped in later chapters. She's quite careless about that, though, so don't expect melodrama about it. Meet ups with Kakashi are planned, don't worry!**

 **Pineaple-Lady-sama: I really hadn't realized how similar they were until you pointed it out to be, honestly. Thanks again for that! Expect a lot more irony, too, because that's my jam.**

 **Greenisacolorto: Thank you very much! Haha, even I am curious about Chieko's father... As for the changes she'll bring, they'll be diverse.**

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 **Wisdom**

A Naruto fan fiction story

 _Wisdom_ © Nanabooks

 _Naruto_ © Masashi Kishimoto

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 **CHAPTER VII**

 **OF EVOLUTION**

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The day Chieko finally turned five, the Nara clan held a fancy party in her honour. Apparently, Shikaku had decided that it was time to celebrate the newest addition to the clan. On her fifth birthday, Chieko was officially introduced to the clan which welcomed her with open arms and lazy smiles – even though most of its members already knew her.

(The Naras' taste for parties and such was something she'd never expected, and yet, here it was.)

Symbolically, Chieko's fifth birthday marked the day she finally said goodbye to her shady life at the brothel, where she hid in the shadows and prayed for an abuse-free day every night. She bid farewell to the hatred-driven woman who'd called herself her mother, and shoved the trauma creeping up on her far away in a corner of her mind.

At first, the party was only supposed to have a few guests and the Nara clan – which was still a hell lot of people, as Sage would put it – but it had somehow escalated to… Chieko didn't really know how to describe it.

Her birthday party – it had been _supposed_ to be one, mind you – had turned into a gathering of three of Konoha's most prominent clans, and a lot of foreigners who had no right to be there. Chieko wasn't ashamed to say she sold Shikaku out when an angry-as-all-fuck Yoshino had inquired about the unplanned guests.

(To be fair, this mess was all Shikaku's fault. He'd told his friends, Inoichi Yamanaka and Chōza Akimichi, about Chieko's birthday party, and the two men being clan heads – and huge gossips in Inoichi's case – the news had spread and turned the small and cosy party to a full-fledged clan gathering.)

Munching quietly on a now dango-free stick, face scrunched up in disapproval, Chieko observed the lot of people, who were happily partying and generally enjoying themselves.

"How are you doing, honey?" Yoshino came to ask her, her normally tense features smothered in a relaxed mask. "Are you enjoying yourself? You seem a bit down."

"I'm fine, Kaa-chan." She beamed – and much to her dismay, her grin was a little too wide to be sincere. "There's a lot of people, that's all."

In all honesty, Chieko couldn't care less about the people. True, a crowded place was never pleasant, but the nuisance was easily dismissed.

Back when Chieko wasn't a complicated mix of Sage and herself, but simply _Sage_ ; the people might have been a problem. Sage was asocial, she stayed clear of any form of socialisation and avoided other going out like the plague. Chieko had lived four years in a neighbourhood crowded with people at night, in an even more crowded, touristic city; she'd had time to adjust to heavy crowds.

Chieko would be partying with the others too – if she hadn't been witness to severe segregation and petty criticism.

She'd hadn't expected to face the ugly façade of this world so soon – if at all. She'd naïvely thought that she would escape the radar and not be confronted to something of the kind. Chieko hadn't been prepared, and it was probably why it hurt this bad.

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"Haven't you heard?" A snide voice asked in disbelief. Then, it spat, disgust evident in the words, "The child comes from a red district."

"A whore's spawn?" Another questioned in return. "It's no wonder she'd got such an odd colouring."

"It's such a waste," the first voice sighed, as if genuinely sorry, "Nara-sama shouldn't have taken her in. She'll bring shame to the Nara clan."

"I can't believe the clan welcomed her with open arms. She looks like she's from Lightning, with that ugly skin tone."

A despicable laugh, "Have you seen her hair? Red is such a sickening colour."

The wo civilian women laughed at that, and they looked like pigs having a fit.

"She'll be the clan's downfall, for sure… A disgrace with no name can hardly bring anything good."

By the time the two women had stopped spitting unfair jabs on her expense, Chieko's ears were buzzing. Denial was hot in her veins.

 _I do have a name, hags!_ Chieko wanted to scream at their faces, despite having no idea whether her speculations on her father's identity were true. In insight, it really shouldn't have hurt this much, being frowned and talked about like scum for her colouring, her blood or origin, after enduring so much – but it did.

Chieko wasn't expecting hostilities this soon – she'd hoped to pass under the radar of segregation. She shouldn't have been expecting any less – Kushina was the perfect example of the strong hatred Konoha borns had for foreigners. The redhead had been bullied and despised.

However, Chieko hadn't expected adults to join in. Kids, she could understand – they had no filter to stop them from saying hurtful things, nor did they grasp the power each of their words held. The adults, though – the supposed great ones, respectable and all-mighty – surprised her. She hadn't thought they would stoop so low. Mocking a child, really?

This was the real Konohagakure, she thought cynically. It wasn't as tolerant as it fancied itself – this was the ugly reality of things. Konoha, for all its beauty and kindness, was still a place full of ill-placed prejudice.

(Chieko witnessed the bitter reality – sneers, despise, and misplaced xenophobia were _so ugly_ – and she thought, _what will happen if I make it fall apart?_ )

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"Am I a disgrace?" she asked Yoshino.

The petting of her hair abruptly stopped, Yoshino's eyes blazing with an emotion one could only describe as cold fury. Chieko hadn't meant to anger her – as she'd apparently done so – but as much as she liked to think others' opinions didn't matter, the fact was that they _did_.

Chieko could act tough all she wanted, but she wasn't oblivious to her own feelings. The two harpies' words had hit too close to home for comfort – and she liked to believe she was important to this world, to the people she knew, but the _truth_ was – she could be easily replaced.

"What makes you think that, Chieko?" Yoshino asked in return, and if the dark look in her eyes hadn't been enough of an indication; the lack of suffix at the end of her name was.

Yoshino Nara wasn't pissed – she was _furious_.

Chieko shrugged. Absentmindedly, her eyes slid over the two women from earlier, who were snickering loudly – probably spitting lies on another victim – twenty-feet away.

"Just wondering, that's all."

Yoshino sat next to her and wrapped her arms around Chieko's shoulders in a comforting embrace.

"You're not a disgrace, Chieko." The woman told her softly, starting to pet Chieko's hair again, with a fondness she'd only experienced with Nanako and Sayuri. "I'm happy that Shikaku decided to take you in."

"Really?"

Her own childish voice sounded disbelieving – as if she had trouble grasping what Yoshino was saying. She did have difficulty to understand how the woman in front of her could be happy to welcome a complete stranger into her family.

Sage had been living a life full of lies and deceits, where the smiles were fake and the words spoken veiled threats, and where genuine love was hard to find when people kept stabbing you in the back. Chieko had been born in an environment that didn't allow close relationships such as those which united a family, and where hypocrisy was a constant.

Yoshino's face turned serious. She looked at Chieko straight in the eyes.

"You are not a disgrace, Chieko. You're a pride. Our pride. You are part of our family now. You're our daughter, and don't you dare believe otherwise. Anyone who tells you the opposite is an idiot."

Maybe this time, Chieko would learn to trust people. Trust wasn't easily given after all – it took more than one day and a whim to allow people in. Her world kept getting bigger, but Chieko wasn't afraid.

(This, she knew, was the major difference between Sage and Chieko. It was the undeniable proof that Sage was stepping aside to allow Chieko to live on her own. This was the line that marked the change from Sage to Chieko – a change that would shape her, as they both secretly hoped, into a worthy and better human being.)

"Okay," Chieko softly whispered whilst hugging Yoshino close, afraid that she'd disappear if she let her go.

The sounds of the crowded compound were tuned out and Chieko gladly bathed into the peace bubble surrounding them. For a short moment, she wanted to enjoy a mother's touch – the kind she missed more than she was willing to admit.

Yoshino was softly humming to herself, and the melody was soothing Chieko's inner distress. She looked up to see the older woman smiling softly at her. Her breath caught in her throat.

This.

The smile.

All along, all she'd wanted was the smile – the blinding, loving, utterly beautiful only a mother could give. The smile that was only given to a mother's children.

It was the smile Chieko had seen in her younger day; the one she'd never stopped yearning for after its disappearance.

"Ne, Kaa-chan?" she asked quietly, her voice muffled in Yoshino's comforting shoulder, as the woman kept petting her hair.

"What is it, Chieko-chan?"

"… I love you, Kaa-chan."

The hand in her hair stilled for a moment, before the genuine reply came.

"I love you too, Chieko."

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Chieko was quietly browsing through a medical book when Fate decided to mess with her again.

Her current reading was interesting enough – and by that she meant that it indeed retained her interest for longer than three chapters. It mainly consisted on the uses of medicinal plants and poisons, applied to medical ninjutsu. Basically, it regrouped most of the stuff she was considering to specialize in.

Shikamaru and she had spent the day away in a typical Nara manner – not that she minded. In fact, they spent almost every Sunday lounging and generally wasting their time, but Chieko found that she rather liked being lazy, occasionally. It was one of the many traits she and Sage shared.

Hanging out with Shikamaru was quite relaxing, too. They never talked much – neither of them was the talker – but they caught to each other's presence like a fish to water. Oddly enough, her mind seemed to quiet down and stop its constant fretting in Shikamaru's presence. The boy had a calming effect on her, just like she had on him, and Chieko loved him for that.

(Their companionship was similar to the one Sage had had with Mason, but yet, different. Better, even. Chieko supposed it came from the mutual understanding of each other Shikamaru and her had. Shikamaru's brain was constantly analysing every bit of information it caught, Chieko's was naturally overloaded with knowledge. When they were together, the unstopping flow of data coursing through their minds seemed to shut down – and they both dearly desired a moment away from their intelligence.)

"Chieko?" Yoshino called out from behind the door. "Can you come with me? Tō-san wants to introduce her to his friends."

Shit.

Whilst Chieko was oblivious to many things, she knew that 'Tō-san wants to introduce you to his friends' meant she was going to meet his best friends, and by best friends she meant Chōza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka. And that was _bad_.

She could hardly hide anything from Shikaku, with the man being a high-ranked shinobi in addition to being an extremely intelligent man; how could she possibly manage with a man whose daily job was to dissect other people's minds?

This was bad. Really bad. For all her genius, there was still a high chance she'd end up fucking thing up. If she brought even the slightest suspicion upon herself, her head would roll. And Chieko very much liked her head where it was.

"Chieko?"

"'M coming, Kaa-chan."

Her answer, despite being whispered, woke Shikamaru up. He stirred, his head rolling on her lap. He looked at her, one eye squinted open. This kid would be the death of her – he was too adorable.

"Whaa-…"

Chieko smiled and tapped his cheek, gently moving his head onto the sofa and away from her legs. "Kaa-chan's calling me."

Shikamaru groaned in displeasure and tried to overpower her so his head stayed in her lap, but she managed to get him off her. Damn, he was strong for a five-year-old. Was this ninja genetics going at it again?

She left the library in time to hear a mumbled, "Troub'some", meaning that Shikamaru had finally rolled over and gotten back to sleep.

On her way to her guardian's office, Chieko couldn't stop fidgeting. Her nerves were getting the best of her, and she mentally tsked in annoyance.

(Or Sage did, but she honestly didn't see the difference.)

This situation wasn't planned. Chieko's hadn't planned on being introduced to Chōza and Inoichi this early on. At her birthday party, she'd been fine, simply because there had been enough people to blend in the crowd and avoid her Shikaku's curious friends. Which was, in itself, an incredible feat, because one couldn't easily dismiss the Yamanakas' and Akimichis' clan leaders.

Chieko had counted herself as extremely lucky. She could hear Fate gloating in an imaginary background. Stupid.

.

Meeting Shikaku's friends and fellow clan heads had been a… _rocky_ moment. It'd been full of revelations, too – if this meant anything. Chieko herself wasn't sure where, exactly, on a scale of nice to disastrous, she stood with the two other clan heads. It was… unnerving, because Chieko always knew where she stood with others.

(She was the one in control, after all. She held every card within her grasp, and surprising her was quite the hardship.)

If Chieko absolutely had to describe how the meeting had gone, she would say, 'Helpful.'. In fact, it was exactly what she told Shikamaru when the latter had inquired about the meeting around dinner. She'd seen Shikaku raise an eyebrow at the professional – if distant – response and she'd shrugged.

She had no other way to describe it, really. Not good, not bad, but _helpful_.

Helpful, because this meeting, as Sage would put it, had gotten her mind out of the gutter.

Chieko had finally opened her eyes, and made a lifechanging decision.

It wasn't the awe that had filled her eyes upon their meeting, not it was the strong presence each of the three men exuded; that had led her to finally take the decision she'd been pondering on for quite some time.

Chieko wasn't a mere admirer, a follower incapable of her own opinions and actions, _no_. She'd always been a strong-willed woman that tended to make people bend to her will, rather than the other way around. No, saying so would be an insult to her intelligence.

Chieko was after the raw power the three men constantly exhibited, and the strong bond they shared. This undeniable bond had been the breaking point and thus what had persuaded her.

It was the playful gleam in their eyes as they fell into their joyful banter, the clear talks they held with a simple look in each other's eyes, the whispers they spoke around a nice cup of strong sake.

A deafening silence had taken over her mind at the sight, until a single thought had powerfully echoed through the busy space that was Chieko's mind.

 _I want that._

Chieko had realized she craved the smiles, the laughter, the _trust_ that could unite people. She wanted it all. She rejected the idea of having simple friends when they could be so much more; when they could be the reasons for her desire to live, the people with whom she'd bleed, cry, laugh, and fight.

And so, Chieko had decided to become a ninja.

She wasn't seeking glory, or acknowledgment, or anything of the sort by becoming one. If anyone asked, she would say she wanted to try living, for once, and make the world a better place. It was a utopic viewpoint of the broken, destructive, and utterly sad world of shinobi, but Chieko, bless her, didn't see the world in colours or shades of grey.

Instead, this world was full of songs. Of stories; sometimes sad, sometimes happy, but always utterly beautiful, and Chieko wanted to write her own.

(There would always be a hidden truth to her motives – a cautiously hidden-away fact about her she would fiercely defend with all her might, a secret no one would become aware of.)

Her adventuring down the path of shinobi wasn't foolishness, or sheer stupidity, for that she knew that she could handle the harsh reality of things Fate would no doubt throw at her face.

Chieko was seeking companionship, and honestly believed she could only experience it through the shinobi way. This world, for all its twisted society and mindsets, had at least taught her this: a bond forged through tears and blood was unbreakable.

She was after this unbreakable bond, after the unspoken trust that united the members of a shinobi cell, after the quiet support each member gave to the others, after the beautiful, if twisted, friendship that blossomed, even between polar opposites.

(She craved for this kind of bond so desperately.)

"To-san?"

"Hm, Chieko-chan?"

"I want to go to the Academy."

There was a silence, then, during which Shikaku looked at Chieko with an unreadable face; before he took in her serious expression and strong determination in her eyes, and sighed.

"Alright, Chieko. Let's hope you don't regret it."

The words annoyed her. Did Shikaku really see her as a _weak_ – if extremely intelligent – civilian girl that admired shinobi for their incredible feats without knowing the consequences of such a lifestyle? She tsked audibly, and didn't cower under the raised eyebrow and intense stare she received for it.

"I won't." she said, and she sounded so much like Sage did that she couldn't help but smirk.

Shikaku observed her for a short moment, before smirking too.

"Training starts tomorrow. Bring Shika-chan with you."

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Chieko wasn't afraid to admit that she'd remorselessly thrown Shikamaru under the metaphorical bus, which the pineapple-head toddler did not appreciate. She was fairly certain he was giving her the cold shoulder.

Ah well, she'd buy him takoyaki and hopefully, his favourite food would appease his ire. He couldn't stay mad at her for too long, anyway.

She was exaggerating a little: after all, the training wasn't as hard as she'd imagined it.

(Harsh training seemed unlikely for the Nara clan, too. While the Naras were brilliant shinobi and fearsome strategists, they certainly weren't the most active of people.)

The lack of intense effort was probably why Shikamaru was slowly dozing off to sleep, instead of doing the five laps around the clan's training ground like they'd instructed to do.

Chieko had done said laps easily, all right. She wasn't even tired after it.

She nudged Shikamaru, who was barely conscious and lying in the dirt.

"You _do_ know Kaa-chan's coming to see how we're doing on our first training session, right?"

Her remark made him jerk in fright, immediately awake. Shikamaru shot up, groaning in pain as he experienced the effects of getting up too quickly. She snickered; he shot her a glare.

"Don't look at me like that. Next time I'll let you fall asleep, we'll see how you like getting scolded by Kaa-chan."

As sweet as she was, Yoshino Nara was also a force to be reckoned with. She was gentle and a very caring mother, but there was hell to pay when she got angry.

She was absolutely terrifying. Dealing with an angry Yoshino was not a walk in the park.

"…Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed, but he seemed to have resigned himself to his fate and slowly got up.

They went back to their stretches – Chieko wouldn't rat on Shikamaru not doing his five laps for it would be a waste of time – and contrary to Shikamaru, who kept complaining about the effort he had to muster, Chieko was quite pleased and appreciated losing a bit of the amount of energy she had in store. Being exhausted felt nice, and it was a state the hyperactive child within her found extremely satisfying.

(As she'd previously discovered, Chieko possessed a disturbing amount of chakra for a child her age. Such an amount led to hyperactivity – more than she could handle, to be honest – and an excess of energy, while extending her stamina to formidable levels. She never seemed to tire herself out.)

Shikaku had hinted the problem – a very handy problem, she'll give him that – came from her father, which didn't bode well with Chieko. Her father was a stranger, an unknown in a world where Chieko and Sage knew everything.

For once, a vital information was escaping her. She didn't know – and she really didn't like not knowing.

Anyway, Shikaku had found a way to quiet down her vitality; and by that, she meant that the man kept driving her to exhaustion through training. For now, Chieko wasn't complaining – her limbs were nicely tingling with exhaustion and she felt better than she'd had in months – but she knew that tomorrow would be an entirely different story.

She resolutely decided to give Shikaku the cold shoulder for being a slave driver.

"Maa, I think we've done enough for today." Shikaku said, chuckling slightly at his son's exhausted state – bloody sadist he was – and Chieko glared at him. Cold shoulder, he repeated in her head.

As if reading her scornful mind, Shikaku looked at her with a smirk and asked, "How about we go out for dango, Chieko?"

… Damn, was there any way to refuse such a pleasant offer?

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 **Snippet of a preview (if I decide to go along with my current plan)**

His trembling hands went to her neck to check her pulse; his heart pounding erratically against his rib cage with each dreadful second that passed, his brain overloaded with terrified thoughts of _what ifs_ that Sasuke refused to think about.

Gently, his fingers touched the pulse point in her neck.

"Below the jaw, right on the vein," Chieko had told him once. She always gave him resourceful information when she spoke to him, despite Sasuke pretending to not pay her any mind. Chieko, somehow, always knew when he was listening.

Sasuke had never felt so thankful in his entire life for the precious information she'd given him. With a hopeful breath, he pressed his fingers on the point, ignoring the frantic beating of his heart and cold sweat of utter dread coming off his skin, and listened closely.

Nothing.

No.

No!

Sasuke pressed harder, because surely, he was doing something wrong – this could not be happening – his hands cradled Chieko's face, and –

She wasn't breathing.

She wasn't breathing.

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 **Preview**

"Ero-sennin!"

"What is it again, brat?"

"Where are we sleeping tonight!?" Naruto yelled, demanding, and Chieko sighed.

"Naruto, will you stop whining? Jiraiya surely has a place in mind." She turned to the sannin, suddenly very suspicious. "You do, right?"

Jiraiya jerked back a little at her accusing tone, looking offended.

"Of course I do!" he yelled dramatically, making wide and theatrical motions with his arms. "Who do you think I am, brats?!"

"A pervert!" "A weirdo." said brats answered simultaneously.

"Rude!" Jiraiya tsked, annoyed. He pointed an accusing finger at them. "I'll have you two know, I know exactly where to stay!"

Chieko raised a sceptic eyebrow. The man went into his victory pose.

"A land of sake and beautiful women!" And there went the three forbidden sins of a ninja.

"Hell no," Chieko refused immediately. "We got screwed last time with you going off." She glared at the sannin, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"I'll suppose we'll have to camp," she announced with finality, resigned to her fate. "Again."

"Looks like it," Naruto, on her right, agreed, before the words sank in. "What!? Ero-sennin! You shitty liar! You promised us a hotel tonight, 'ttebayo!" He wacked the sannin upside the head.

It was funny, Chieko noticed, how Jiraiya let Naruto hit without consequences – as one of the legendary sannin, the sage could easily break Naruto like a twig with his pinkie finger.

"Now, now, brat, no need to get violent." Jiraiya reprimanded Naruto with a wince and rubbing the back of his head. "We'll find something eventually."

"Are you stupid or something?" Chieko deadpanned.

"Yeah! It's the middle of spring, Ero-sennin!"

The man looked at them as if they'd grown another head. "And so?"

Oh god, that man was clueless about so many things. She was surrounded by idiots.

" _And so_!?" Naruto yelled again, his face taking the red hue Chieko had related to the oops-Naruto-is-pissed mode. Oh dear. "There are people everywhere! _Tourists_!"

Jeez, it wasn't enough of a reason to yell so loud. Chieko rubbed her ears, as if it would soothe the pain of a damaged earing system. The chidori was a pain, man. She would fucking throttle Sasuke for giving her a headache. After they got Tsunade-hime to wake him up, obviously.

She would have to take care of Naruto's scratches too, but healing wasn't her top priority right now. Chieko craved a shower.

Anyway, Naruto wasn't wrong about the amount of people exploring Tanzaku at the moment. If Chieko remembered correctly, spring was the season of the year the most favourable to tourism in Fire. Tanzaku, being the capital of the Land of Fire and current residence of the daimyo, didn't escape the crowds. In fact, it probably was the most visited town of Fire, because of the different festivals that occurred at this time of year.

Chieko's personal favourite was the poetry recitals – Nanako's boyfriend had done it three times in a row, thanks to his undeniable talent in poetry, and they'd partied until the dead of night. In addition to it, though, were organised several festivals such as dance contests and bonfires.

Anyway, the hotels and taverns disseminated throughout the city were probably all full already. They could always camp for the night, Chieko wrinkled her nose up in disgust, but they were filthy and desperately needed a shower. That, and Naruto was starting to get fidgety.

She had little choice, then.

Chieko sighed, and shook her head when she saw the two males of the trip still bickering. She pushed her bangs away from her face and turned around to face them.

"Attention, please," she said loudly, and both whirled around with questioning looks. "Follow me. I know a place."

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"You've been in Tanzaku before, Chieko-chan?" Jiraiya asked with a chuckle.

Naruto was behind, following them loosely, because the blond kept getting interested in the different shops they passed by every two minutes or so. Chieko nodded.

"Hm. I lived here."

Of course, Naruto had just caught up with them, and he sent her look. Chieko shrugged. He probably remembered her confession after their Team Seven's A-ranked mission.

"Really?" The sannin sounded put off by that. Chieko looked at him in the corner of her eye, and wondered. Hadn't he been made aware of it?

She stopped.

"Yup. More precisely, I lived here." Chieko pointed at the gate that marked the entrance of Tanzaku's Red-Light District.

It was an imposing and very red arch, behind which they could see the large road that followed. Chieko had always disliked it – it lacked subtlety. It was an ugly, worn and massive gate, with the kanji 'lust' on the front, with lanterns on both sides. Customers were only starting their visits to their favourite brothel, so thankfully the street wasn't too crowded.

Chieko remembered the busy nights, buzzing with activities, the smells that reeked the street at night and the boisterous laughs that kept her awake.

She could see the Red Lily, at the end of the street, standing tall and proud in its magnificence. She touched her earring self-consciously.

She was going back to a part of her past she'd rather forget, and while she was thankful for the opportunity to see Sayuri-obaa-sama and Nanako, she wasn't sure if she liked being back or not.

(Madness and hate shining in poison green eyes, the gleam of a knife in the moonlight, and the red red _red_ blood leaving the still warm body of the woman she'd loved at first sight –)

"… Here?" Jiraiya asked in disbelief, forcing Chieko to get out of her morbid thoughts.

She turned to see Naruto's reaction, as if suddenly her friend would start to judge her for her origins, but he kept smiling at her and Chieko's heart melted.

She hugged him. "You're too fucking cute." She mumbled in his shoulder, and Naruto laughed. She released him as quickly as her whim had gotten her to act.

"We're nearly there." Chieko announced, and started walking in the direction of the Red Lily.

Jiraiya probably whispered, "A brothel, huh? Explains it…" but as she wasn't paying attention, she wasn't sure about it. It was likely to concern her ascendance, though.

"Are you okay, Ko-chan?" Naruto's voice brought her back to reality, and she faintly smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Naru. I'm just uneasy… I'm not sure if they remember me."

Haha, who was she kidding? Sayuri-obaa-sama had probably been watching over her since she'd left, and even if she hadn't, the woman had a too effective memory to simply forget her. Concerning Nanako, well, Chieko wasn't sure if she'd kept working at the brothel.

Point was, neither of the two would have forgotten her, anyway. She'd been too much of a curiosity as a child.

Chieko was prepared to face them, though. Or not.

Sayuri-obaa-sama would probably throttle her and maim her with a hair pin or something, and Nanako would cry and try to choke her to death at the same time.

Oh God, Chieko paled, she was doomed. D-O-O-M-E-D.

"Can I help you?" a voice halted them on their way to the entrance, and Chieko raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

The woman was a new face, and Chieko would've probably found her pretty if not for her disgusted sneer and condescending voice. Her shiny auburn hair was tied up in an elegant bun, and her soft features pampered in white powder. Geisha, then.

"Hum…" she heard Jiraiya say, and the lady turned to him with a scowl on her pretty face.

"Are you their father? You're not allowed to enter with children, sir," she said, frowning at Naruto and Chieko, who ticked in annoyance.

"Good evening to you too, ma'am," she said with an eyeroll.

Chieko tilted her head to the side, allowing her bangs to fall over her face to show off her earring. The jewel was the symbol of her belonging to the Red Lily, after all, and if the woman in front of her dismissed it, then she would simply have to sneak in.

The woman's pupil-less eyes drifted to her ear, and Chieko threw her a sharp grin when she recognized the symbol. She also possessed an earring like hers, after all.

"I'm Fujioka Chieko. Could you fetch Sayuri-obaa-sama for me?"

The woman's eyes furtively went back and forth between Chieko's face and shining earring, as if she couldn't decide if she was telling the truth, before deciding that it didn't suffice as proof and asking, with a sneer,

"And who may I announce?"

The sharp grin turned into a vicious, arrogant smirk, with amber eyes gleaming with mirth.

"Her granddaughter."

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 **A/N: In the face of the Block, any esteemed writer shall accept fate and cease to push his luck. Terribly sorry this chapter is so short, but first I was busy, then I got bored, and lastly, I couldn't bring myself to write what I wanted correctly.**

 **Instead though, I gave you previews, aren't you glad?**

 **First preview was actually longer than currently, but I managed to lose the draft so I stopped before I blew it. I'll start looking for the damn paper when I find the time. Second preview… well, I quite like this one, I'm actually looking forward to starting the plot.**

 **On a different note, my sincere apologies. I honestly thought I would have the time to write and publish at least two chapters, but it seems time was against me. I had to graduate one day, y'know. I just came back from Japan (and I'm sick/looking like a dying whale, which is wonderful really) and I still have to pack my stuff to move in my new place. Ugh.**

 **Hopefully, I'll have more time to write, although I'm not making any promises (I've got a little trouble with Naruto cuz' I'm slowly becoming One Piece trash (and I have more ideas on a SI in OP than I can count. Oops.).).**

 **Please leave a review, because else I have no way of knowing whether you like this story or not.**

 **As I said countless times (and I'm know other writers say it too), reviews are the fuel to my writing. A nice word, or even a critic, inspires me and keeps me going. Otherwise I'm bored and can't do shit, and it'll be a nightmare for both you and me.**

 **Do please leave a review with your thoughts, your theories, your opinions… Hell, if you want to recommend a story, I'm in. Thank you.**

 **Farewell,**

 **Nanabooks.**


	8. NOTE (irrelevant since 042017)

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 **LITTLE (IMPORTANT) NOTE**

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 **DO NOT LEAVE REVIEWS ON THIS CHAPTER, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO SAY, SAY IT IN ONE OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.**

 _This note will be deleted after the rewriting part is achieved._

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Hellooo dearest friends!

Sadly, I'm not back with a new chapter, but I still have something to keep you entertained! Isn't that beautiful? I think it's beautiful. I've been sick the whole week (dying on my sofa... sluggish and feverish) and I haven't been able to continue to write, in addition to the work I'm drowning under.

Two weeks ago I decided to re-write everything I did up until now. I'm a woman on a mission: there will be no new chapter until I've gone through everything I've posted already. Though, and please read carefully there, the rewrite of the few chapters posted not only includes additional parts on parts already written, but also brand new moments/scenes in the story! And therefore, the chapters will be quite a lot longer than before.

Hope you bear with me until my perfectionism vanishes!

This note will be replaced by an actual chapter once everything is rewritten and approved.

I've already updated the first chapter (CHAPTER I (PROLOGUE), Void) so go read it please!

 **CHAPTER I (PROLOGUE) - Void - Edited 01/20/17**

 **CHAPTER II - Settling of things - Edited 02/04/17**

 **CHAPTER III - Doom falls - Edited 02/21/17**

 **CHAPTER IV - A wild Hokage appears - Edited 03/04/17**

 **CHAPTER V - Goodbyes - Edited 04/20/17**

 **REWRITING COMPLETED (FOR NOW)**

Let me now your opinions on the new-not-so-new prologue by reviewing. Reviews are love (and kisses. Or hugs. Whichever is fine with me.)

Nanabooks out.

PS: I would also like to thank y'all for following and favoriting this story, I can't believe I've already reached a hundred followers. Thank you very much.


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